. >>> and cardinal donald whirl is heading to the vatican. he will first hold mass here in northeast d.c. he is one of 11 u.s. cardinals that will pick the next pope, and that collection will happen sometime next month. >>> now to the sequestration showdown. congress returns to work with only a few days to prevent massing spending cuts. they are trying to prevent the so-called sequester, and that would splash defense spending, and education, and other services. that will happen this friday everything lawmakers are able to reach a deal. the sequester is a main topic at the national governor's association. they are calling on governors to work quickly, but governors seem pessimistic, and they are calling on congress to find a middle ground before the americans feel the affects of deep cuts. >> the sequestration was designed by the administration and congress as something so repellant that it would force both sides to a compromise. >> president obama will host the governors at the white house for a dinner tonight and the association's summit wrap

. >>> cardinal donald whirl is the archbishop of washington. good morning. >> good morning. >> help us understand what's taking place now. are there factionsin the -- factions within the church, geographical divides? how will the selection of a new pope come about? >> well, at the heart of the process is going to be as you know gathering all the knds for the con -- cardinals for the conclave. when that is announced they'll come together in rome. there's a whole way in which this moves forward. prayer is a big, big part of it. and the openness of spirit. we say that with a certain conviction because in the past we recognized how that has played out. who would have thought, who would have thought all those years ago that the cardinal -- cardinal would have been elected pope. i think in conclave there will be a great openness of listening to the holy spirit. >> is there lobbying that goes on? >> during the conclave itself there isn't because there's a silence that pervades the entire conclave. obviously beforehand there will be discussion among th

back and they need to find a man who can communicate to the younger generation, i spoke to cardinal donald whirl yesterday as the archbishop of washington, d.c., who said we need to find someone who can package our message, repackage our message to make it resonate with younger catholics today and that's going to be a big challenge. >> pope benedict has spoken just yesterday about the difficulties. he said there were many good days of sunshine, but stormy waters sometimes as if god were sleeping and certainly the sex abuse crisis that we -- he's going over the coliseum, that's an extraordinary view. liz, can you see this? >> yes, it's quite a scene, it's quite an amazing thing, leaving the vatican, crossing over the remnants of ancient rome and he'll pass by the cathedral of rome and beyond into the green exterior of the city toward castle st. angelo. >> the helicopter kind of swooped a little bit there as he went over his bishop -- >> people may not know this, but his tight system not just pope or his holiness, but he becomes the bishop of rome when he becomes elected and as liz said is home ch

voting-he will vibl cardinals, were appointed by him including the archbishop of washington cardinal donald whirl. >> we will be looking for someone who is a very articulate voice in that continuity. but i think we also will be looking for someone who will carry on the spiritual traditions that pope benedict has so focused on. >> suarez: more than half the current cardinals come from europe but more than half the world's catholics now live in africa and latin america. already there's speculation the next pontiff may be the first non-european ever. >> woodruff: for more on benedict's resignation, his less an and the future of the church, we're joined by monsignor rick hilgartner of the u.s. conference of catholic bishops. he's the executive director of the secretariat of divine worship. sister christine schenk, a catholic nun and executive director of future church, which calls for a more progressive church. and from rome, john allen of cnn. he covers the vatican for the network and for the "national catholic reporter." we thank you all three for being with us. john allen, i'm going to stay with y