, in the modern history of the papacy. it hasn't happened in 600 years. but it really goes to demystify the pope in many ways and restore the idea that this is about the office, the successor of saint peter, not just this cult about a certain person, who has kind of been elevated to almost a demigod in the eyes of so many. so it really refocuses the church's attention on what the job of the pope is. and as you say, it's a really big job. it's a 24/7 job now in a way that it never was before. i think the question is, can you find a pope who knows how to delegate, who knows how to pick really able administrators who can do a lot of these things for him and a pope who knows how to consult in a way that benedict did not perhaps? >> i think kim and david have made excellent points. and in the last two conclaves what they've done is they've elected the smartest man in the room. and the question today is, should they do that again? or should they elect someone who will listen to all the other smart people in the church? should th

the papacy was really an office that was established by jesus christ. it doesn't belong to the man. it's not about the man who's the pope. it's about an office that was established by god in order to bring to help the church have unity and to guide the church throughout the tum multis of history. there's been a lot of tumultuous periods in the history of the church. but by making this statement or making this move, this decision, the pope is reminding us, well, it's not the pope that runs the church. it's really god. we really believe that the pope is the work of god. and benedict has been reminding us that he -- >> he's also been given remarkably personal insights particularly in the audience about this decision that was made, that when he was chosen back in 2005, he wondered why this was being asked of him. he felt it was a great weight that was being placed on his shoulders and i can tell having gone to both the audience and the mass there in rome on ash wednesday, he looked to me like a man who was so at peace with his decision and he looked like the weight of the world had list

the papacy matters if you're catholic or not. and reaction to the papacy illustrates that.e is a transition in this job, the whole world weighs in on which way the catholic church ought to go. >> as i said, has a direct influence on the daily lives of so many people. and here's the thing. this is, as we know, not an election cycle but could the abdiication, the resignation of pope benedict xvi set in motion a trend? could we see down the road another such resignation rather than waiting for the death of a pope? >> well, the official line from the vatican of course is this does not set a precedent. the pope is the supreme authority in the church. in effect no one can tell him what to do. when there is a new pope it will be his free decision whether to step down or not. obviously once you break seven centuries of tradition and make a voluntary decision to step down, it makes it easier for the next guy to make that decision. when we see the next pope beginning age and become more frail, a drum beat will begin of when is this guy going to step aside? >> so interesting. back to

his papacy ends in just under 24 hours. then he will no longer be pope benedict and assume the title roman pontiff emeritus. >> how would you rate the status of the church as the pope is leaving? has it gotten better or worse? >> it varies a great deal from continent to continent. in europe and in north america, the church appears to be shrinking. membership, of course, is one indicator and not necessarily the only one, of course, but one indicator of the church's vibrancy and life. on the other hand, in africa, and asia, for example, the church is growing at quite a remarkable rate. in the last 100 years, for example, the catholic church in africa has grown enormously. there are now more than 200 million christians in africa, and they have very little understanding for the demands in europe and north america for reforms within the church. i live myself for many years in southern africa, and the church there is very vibrant. >> what can we take away as benedict's legacy? what were his most important achievements? >> of cour

. >> also acknowledging that this has been, george, some times very difficult papacy, any papacy is hard, you wrote about this today, the idea that becoming pope is actually an impocket task, but he said that he faced choppy seas, head winds at times, your thoughts about his final address to the people. >> chris, like you, i was struck by how interestingly autobiography cally this last speech was. it was within a new testament framework. this pope treats the new testament not as if it were an ancient artifact as it was a template to live one's life. sometimes in difficult circumstances, he's asking all of us in the church and in particularly these cardinals, who now have an extremely, heavy burden, laid on them. to understand, like the gospel story of peter, walking on the water, across to the boat of jesus, peter walking from the boat to jesus, excuse me that you can do impossible things if you keep your eyes on the lord. once you start looking around, once you start looking at all of those waves, you start to sink. so, there was a message in here, a challenge, that we're all in the boa

it is the symbol of his authority in the papacy. giving up a little bit later today, a ring that will be destroyed as a new ring is made for a new pope with a new pope's chosen name. [ applause ] one of the cardinals saying good-bye to the pope was cardinal bertone any who is the camerlengo. he will be essentially in charge of the administration of the church during the period of time that the seat of the pope is vacant. we have deallia gallagher with us as well. this is going to be a very short trip, delia. they're just driving out to the vatican helipad which is 300 yards from st. peter's basilica. what are you thinking? you knew cardinal rat ratzinger? what do you think he will be like in retirement? >> i think it's a good-bye which is very understated in keeping with the character of the man. certainly he didn't want too much fanfare for his radical a decision as he has made. it strikes me that probably in a few days a few weeks' time certainly as we have a new pope it will seem normal to have a pope emeritus. that is my underst

and then came here under his papacy. his attempts to deal with it. not having finished the job, and people wanting to clean house and to move on from this thing that has so damaged the church. >> let me ask you to put on your global affairs anchor hat. for catholics, obviously this is an important moment. a beautiful moment in many ways. for non-catholics around the world, why does this matter? >> well, you know, i think -- and i've thought about this a lot -- i'm a roman catholic, and yet the pope has always been a statesman. he's always been somebody who doesn't just minister to roman catholics, but his movements, his pronouncements, what he says, what he does, where he goes, the fact that he's visited and sought out by all world leaders makes him much more than that. so what he does and says affects many other faiths as well. it matters because it's 1.2 billion souls in the world. he's the only faith leader in the world with such a big flock. and as i say, who else rules a billion people other than the heads of china and india? >> a major, major n

eastern time and also when finally his papacy ends, that will be 8:00 p.m.ome i'm today. [ female announcer ] born from the sweet monk fruit, something this delicious could only come from nature. new nectresse. the 100% natural no-calorie sweetener made from the goodness of fruit. new nectresse. sweetness naturally. [ nyquil bottle ] just reading your label. wait...you relieve nasal congestion? sure don't you? [ nyquil bottle ] dude! [ female announcer ] tylenol® cold multi-symptom nighttime relieves nasal congestion. nyquil® cold and flu doesn't. >>> you're taking a look at live pictures from st. peter's square where tens of thousands of pilgrims have gathered to say tear well to pope benedict xvi who will be speaking as holy father for the last time. we're expecting that to happen just minutes from now. >>> meanwhile heavy snow closing highways and crushing homes. a deadly winter storm on the move right now and the

and his papacy ends.his moment, the swiss guards who have been protecting popes for more than 500 years, the longest standing army in the world. you see them there in their colorful uniforms. they will leave castle gandolfo and close the doors and walk off-duty. that will end the papacy for pope benedict. and a new chapter in the catholic church will begin. robin? >> george, we'll get back to you in a little bit. so great to have you there. >>> now, to the dramatic trial of the star university of missouri quarterback. taking the stand for what he says is his side of the story. linsey davis is here with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, robin. we heard johnson definitively say again and again, he never sexually assaulted his accuser. we also heard from his high school coach and from his dad, that he'd never been in trouble. that he studied the bible, went on mission trips. and when johnson got a letter from the dean's office accusing him of rape, johnson says he was shocked beyond belief. from the wit

down was meek six hundred years ago it's certainly not been an easy ride it's not been the longest papacy just under eight years but in that time the certainly being plenty of drama no nice includes one of the one of the reasons that benedict said that he has to step down as he thought his age made him physically and in some cases mentally unable to deal with the everyday life of being the pope in the modern world one of the series of scandals that we've seen involve the so-called vatileaks similar to wiki leaks a series of documents that were distributed online which well apparently showed a c.v. a series of shady dealings done by the vatican this type of thing of course not something your average eighty five year old has to deal with but they include some quite serious allegations including the fact that the vatican colluded with silvio berlusconi's government in italy to try and get pressure taken off the church of rome for paying taxes on properties which it owned those also a list that was published of well less than savory clients for the vatican bank which included some people alle

stepped down was six hundred years ago it's certainly not been an easy ride it's not been the longest papacy just under eight years but in that time the certainly being plenty of drama no nice includes one of the one of the reasons that benedict said that he has to step down as he thought his age made him physically and in some cases mentally unable to deal with the everyday life of being the pope in the modern world one of the series of scandals that we've seen involve the so-called vatileaks similar to wiki leaks a series of documents that were distributed online which well apparently showed a c.v. a series of shady dealings done by the vatican this type of thing of course not something your average eighty five year old has to deal with but they include some quite serious allegations including the fact that the vatican colluded with silvio berlusconi's government in italy to try and get pressure taken off the church of rome for paying taxes on properties which it owned those also list that was published of well less than savory clients for the vatican bank which included some people allege

will be seen as a major setback and a very bad papacy for the church. and now we can talk to religious commentator dr jenny taylor from the media center for religious affairs joining us there in the u.k. despite it being normal practice pope's the succeeded on their death this man is eighty five years old which is well past the retirement age of most people are you surprised at the element of shock express around the world due to his resignation. i'm not sure that there is shock i think there is surprise but i think the element of shock is something that's being whipped up as usual by the media who i'm very pleased to say interested in a very serious religious issue i don't think it's a shock i think it's as i say i think it surprises why is it a surprise. to me most is because only two pope's in history i gather have actually resigned rather than. either being bumped off or waiting it out until they die and i think he has made an extremely pragmatic and practical and courageous and selfless decision and i think all those things are very characteristic

will be seen as a major setback and a very bad papacy for the church usec a task to feed the vatican though says a new catholic church leader will be elected by the end of march who do you think is most likely successor and it's early but who do you think. now i really don't know enough about the internal side of the vatican but wash out what worries me terribly is that the it's quite clear that. he has been packing the college of cardinals with extremely conservative people so as indeed his predecessor did and so that the church will continue its relentless lurch to the right. which is sickening a loss of the catholics themselves they're abandoning the church at an amazing rate and in britain we found the less than half of the. more than half of the m.p.'s who were actually voting in favor of same sex marriage so it's catholics themselves that just cannot take this hard doctrine on issues like homosexuality abortion contraception that their own church is an embarrassment to them could it now then be time to look outside of europe in the search for a new pope then for a fresh start a

eastern, the end of the papacy of benedict xvi will take place.n we have the empty seat, that is the period of interim between this outgoing pope and the next one. that is what everybody is looking for. as you correctly say, while there's a lot of joy, a lot of outpouring of affection for benedict xvi there has also been turmoil in the catholic church, most particularly about the priest sexual abuse scandal and a leading cardinal has said that as the conclave convenes, foremost will be the sex abuse scandal and how to choose a pope who will be able to move this church to a final conclusion to that, to a final implementation of the zero tolerance that benedict xvi instituted and who will be really to lead this 1.2 billion flock into the future. john? >> thanks so much, christiane. >>> so here's a look step by step at pope benedict xvi's historic, unprecedented final day as the holy father. this past hour he gave each cardinal a little brief face time. at 10:45 eastern the pop departs the courtyard for the heliport. at 11:15 his helicopter takes off

>> benedick exacerbated the rift between many christians and muslims early on in his papacy. speaking before an audience at the university of higgins bird on reason and religion, he called a byzantine's emperor critique from the 14th century. >> he said, show me just what muhammed brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and in human to spread what he preached. >> violent protests followed. it was an outspoken comments calling for damage control. the pope flew to turkey where he prayed at the blue mosque side by side with muslim leaders. after his infamous lecture, the vatican also began a new dialogue initiative with muslim leaders. and many welcomed the gesture of reconciliation. >> we are taking a short one man a break, but when we return, more on benedict's resignation. >> a big party going on in germany. it is rose monday. we explain after the break. >> stay tuned. >> welcome back. what is the future of the catholic church now that pope benedict xvi is stepping down? what would he want? >> in a rare event in 2006, lucky journalists got a chance to he

will be seen as a major setback and a very bad papacy for the church usec a task to feed the vatican though says a new catholic church leader will be elected by the end of march who do you think is most likely successor and it's early but who do you think. now i really don't know enough about the internal side of the vatican but washoe what worries me terribly is that the it's quite clear that. he has been packing the college of cardinals with extremely conservative people so. as indeed his predecessor did and so that the church will continue its relentless lurch to the right. which is sickening a loss of catholics themselves they're abandoning the church at an amazing rate and in britain we found the less than half of the. more than half of the m.p.'s who were actually voting in favor of same sex marriage so it's catholics themselves that just cannot take this hard doctrine on issues like homosexuality abortion contraception that their own church is an embarrassment to them could it now then be time to look outside of europe in the search for a new pope then for a fresh start as it

. >> i think it's important to remember that the papacy is -- it's a burden. he's looking right now, right in front of him,him, he has the -- elsik for these chosen men, they'll have to carry a burden. it e it's parenting to the highest degree. the papacy doesn't have a clock off time. it doesn't a moment when the cares of the world. we tend to think of our own corner of the world. which he sees in front of him right now. they are on their shoulders. >> if you're just joining us here in the united states, we're watching the final public appearance for pope benedict xvi, this is his wednesday general audience. in winter, it will be held indoors. today it's outside. because about 200,000 of the faithful are packing st. peter's square, beyond the square and down there. he has made this decision to step down, in a context we have never seen in this church. there, we see the video from just a little bit earlier of the ride he made around the square. kissing babies. taking them out of the audience. smiling. waving to the crowd. to cheers. there will soon to be two p

when he says goodbye, when his papacy ends tonight, they'll have a meeting tomorrow. at that meeting tomorrow, they will announce when the general congregation begins, which is the open discussion of where -- all the things that we believe they have to discuss will start. how long will that last? we don't know. we do know the first order of business is when the conclave will be. and that is when the big moments begin. until then it's all speculation, which is delicious and very, very significant for the church. >> one thing that i found very interesting is when you look at the people who are going to be voting, they are from john paul or pope benedict. in fact more than half of them from pope benedict, so we would imagine the person they are likely to pick would be someone very much like him, conservative? >> well, we don't know that actually because what they'll do in the coming days in the general congregation is look at the issues facing the church, is to determine, as cardinal dolan said in his interview earlier. what kind of leader do we need? and pope benedict's

had not seen since the 15th century: a sitting pope, benedict xvi, announced he is giving up the papacy. the news reverberated around the globe and stunned many of the world's 1.2 billion catholics. >> it was a big surprise because this doesn't happen all the time. and my first reaction was to pray and to call my friends, texted my friends and asked even my non-catholic and nonbelieving friends to keep us in their thoughts and in their prayers. >> i had never heard anything like this in my life. the pope has to be there until he dies. and he is resigning? >> popes can't resign. this hasn't happened in 600 years. a pope can't resign. this news isn't right. >> suarez: a pope abdicated in 1294 but the last pontiff to do so was gregory 12th in 1415. pope benedict's decision at age 85 came i an announcent made in latin during a meeting of cardinals at the vatican. >> dear brothers, i have called you not only for the three can onizations but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the church. after having repeatedly examined my conscience before god i have co

he was a horrible paler of what he was when he first took the papacy.oung dynamic polish guy and spoke every language known to man. martha: skier. >> and canoeist, all of that. benedict came into the papacy reluctantly. he is a thinker, a scholar, a theologian. he didn't want the limelight. just as you indicated he wanted to continue john paul's legacy and make sure nothing radical happened. radicalism to cardinal ratzinger and pope benedict was anathema. martha: we've seen over the course of the history of popes in some way as person who comes in for a shorter period of time. it was as you and i discussing at break felt at the time of pope john paul ii he was the right person to keep the faith, to hold onto the gains made under john paul ii. what have we learned from benedict about what comes next? >> i think the pope served, if you will, his time with great honor and valor. the when it elects popes has a history going long pope, short pope, long pope, short pope. obviously when they reached out to elect carol who became the john paul the 2nd after joh

also because everyone know it is papacy a bone-crushing burden. if you want proof of that, look at the toll it took on john paul ii and how his final months played out. look at the fact that benedict xvi has confessed to the world that it was too much for him to go on. that said, there's certainly tensions among the cardinals about what the core issues are facing the church and who the right man would be to lead the church forward. there are different currents, different scoots of thought and the clash between those currents is playing out in ways large and small. you can see this in the interviews, for example, cardinals are giving in these days. some of them are saying somewhat contrasting things. some are talking about the need for a missionary pope who can be a salesman for the church. others are talking about the need for a stronger governor. some are talking about the desirability of a pope from the developing world. others are talking about the need to make sure you have someone who can engage secularisim in the west. so it's playing out in

both he and john paul ii saw their papacies an attempt to interpret vatican too properly.modernization of the church, vatican ii was an evangelical missionary council. to some degree modernizing to make the church a more apt meaning to that. hence the wide travel for example of john paul ii, hence the great teaching of benedict xvi. i think that's his major legacy. >> they're very different at least in their style and in their i guess pastor abilities in some way, although not very different philosophically. >> this has been a really unsuccessful papacy and the greatest single act of his papacy is that our church is in real trouble and i am not able to cope with the trouble that we're in. i think there are some of the cardinals that are hoping that the next pope that they elect will convene a vatican 3, something that will set the church on a new course, reach out to the modern world, instead of what has happened under john paul ii as well in terms of the theology and benedict which has been a look backwards in terms of what the theology means, what the role of the male ce

during the papacy of paul vi. so i think his own experience with what it means to have someone at the helm who is not up to 24/7 because of his own physical limitations probably influenced him. he knew more than others what this really meant because he was right there in the vatican. >> there are some big issues the catholic church is dealing with now, if the new pope is italian, as italians will be pushing for, or american, as americans are pushing for, is it more likely that the church will bend on perhaps allowing more women to use birth control? >> i don't think that's a major issue right here at this point. i think, when the pope is elected, you're looking at what's going on in the world. that is what influences the papal conclave. so we have intense problems regarding peace, particularly in the middle east. we have the problem of lack of church unity, the sismatic groups the holy father has worked very hard to bring back into the fold. and you have the poverty. he went to africa to highlight the terrible pov

that is one pressure the papacy has faced. the other one has been perhaps more recent and -- the various financial allegations, allegations of financial mismanagement within the vatican. we will find out more details when the news conference starts at about 15 minutes. but we do know pope benedict xvi himself a few years ago has always said if the pope should feel whatever reason he could not go on, whether moral issues, psychological, or by physical, the pope should resign. people resignations are very rare indeed. if i am not mistaken, the last one to resign was in 1415. so, it is a very strange thing and a very rare thing. >> that is what i wanted to ask you about. we have not had any papal resignation. >> it is a surprise but also, i guess, a big challenge because use live the pope, according to the catholic religion, he is effectively god's representative on earth. not the sort of job you resign from. if you remember, " john paul ii the died in 2005, the predecessor, it was a very long illness and it was obvious to everyo

pope benedict xvi taking the papacy in 2005 after john paul ii died at the age of 84. one of the oldest to be elected in 2005 at 78 years old. he is now 85. again, citing that he does not have the strength anymore to fulfill his duties adequately as the pope. >> if you look at this video here, in the last year or so, we have seen the pope at times walking with a cane and with the help of the aides who surround him as he travels the world. that is a huge part of the job of the pope to travel the world as an ambassador if you will of the vatican and of the catholic church. he has said that his physical ability does not allow him to continue to do the job. there have been some reports coming out of family members saying that he had been -- the pope had been told by doctors that he should reduce, if not completely stop traveling transatlant transatlantically and around the globe. he's citing health reasons for wanting to leave the papacy and the catholic church going to have to figure out what happens next. it's been 600 or so years since they've had this sort of change in

his papacy will be remembered for its scandals. those endless sexual abuse coverups that cost more than $3 billion to settle. during a financial scandal, tried and failed to clean up corruption. and the vatileaks scandal. a vatican back-stabbing in intrigue. he may have been the first pope to tweet, but as the leader, he tried to hold back the forces, refusing to expand the role of women. now, though, he is accepting the reality of the modern world. and the catholic church enters new territory. can the church cope with having an ex-pope alive while a new pope tripes to create his own legacy? >> this is the tremendous question that lies before us. there is no job description for a retired pope. >> reporter: so, benedict remains pope until the end of the month. the cardinal s have to assemble here for a conclave to elect his successor. that takes us to mid-march. that means a billion catholics around the world should have a new pope by easter. diane? >> all right, jeffrey, thank you. and, of course, that new pope will have to face th

i think perhaps they would like the papacy back. but certainly cardinal dolan is known very well and is very popular. >> what about somebody from latin america or from asia. >> that's also a possibility. it was a possibility the last time around. it didn't happen. i think, at this point, it could be anyone. i do think the italians will want the papacy back. >> dean many people just cannot get over this morning, just how stunning this is as you pointed out, just hasn't happened in 600 years, a pope resigning. that's what leaves the giant question mark. is there something else other than his health? when you heard the news this morning, what did you think? >> i was actually shocked, i think, as everyone was. i had just gotten up. we had the television on. i said to my wife the pope has resigned. she looked incredulous. popes don't resign. so it is very surprising. as i said, unprecedented. what the next move will be not only for the next pope but to have a former pope looking over his shoulder will be very different from any pope in p

the doors will slam shut and he will have resigned the papacy effective 8:00 p.m. tonight rome time. as dusk falls and the curtain falls on the papacy of benedict xvi we'll continue to watch any developments. we expect the pope will not be seen again in public today, not, really not anymore into his retirement. but we will con into keep an -- continue to keep an eye on all the developments from rome and castel gandolfo. "happening now" will be back in just a moment. would have ben alerted as soon as they noticed an attack in their network, before it was too late. and lifelock's bank account takeover alerts would have notified amanda in time to help protect her money. lifelock guards your social security number, your money, your credit, even the equity in your home. while identity theft can completely stopped, no one protects you better than lifelock. and lifelock stands behind that, with the power of their $1 million service guarantee. you have so much to protect, and nothing to lose when you call lifelock right now and try 60 days of identity theft protection risk

says that my strengths due to an advanced age are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the papacyter: around the world, the reaction was the same. >> today's decision by benedict xvi to resign from the papacy came as a huge surprise to me and to everyone in rome and in the vatican. >> reporter: it hadn't happened for almost 600 years. for 600 years popes died in office. with this one stroke, benedict xvi has changed history. >> no one alive has seen that happen. and the dynamics of that are completely unknown. >> reporter: just under eight years ago he stepped out on the balcony joseph ratzinger chosen to succeed john paul ii who reigned as pope for 25 years. >> he had a hard act to follow. >> a very difficult act. >> reporter: father james marten is editor at large of the magazine "america". >> he is the beloved professor. >> reporter: benedict was a shy man with a great reputation in the church. a theologian a strong advocate for a return to tradition in the face of the modern world. but these were hard years for the catholic church and the pope. there was the agony of the sex a

his papacy has been marked by controversy. the pope criticized for how he handled the situation in his prior jobs when he was archbishop in germany and later a top vatican official. on a visit to america in 2008, he became the first pope to meet with the victims themselves. on a lighter note, benedict has become known as his personal idiosyncracies like his bright red shoes. he's been using a moveable platform to carry him down the aisle of st. peters basilica. this morning after he made his announcement, he was helped down from his chair. while this is a surprise the pope has said in the past that he reserved the right to resign if he felt too old to perform his duties. what's next? he still hopes to serve the church through a life dedicated to prayer. elizabeth, back to you. >> greg, good morning to you. lot of people really surprised by the announcement this morning. some cardinals in the audience didn't understand what pope benedict was saying? >> that's also true. one of those occasions in rome the pope actuallies gives h

he brought modern elements to the papacy.ing a twitter account and celebrating that--and guiding the church in the 21st century. >> travel is a live coorsian reporting. >> will tran is in san francisco this morning with reaction to the polls announcement. >> the pope announced his stepping down here is one reaction. >> he only stayed for eight years. this is a shock in the cardinal of new york was caught off guard by his resignation. i think failing health is the reason why he is stepping down. he believed he could no longer fulfill the duties ordained by our creator. >> i will get more reaction coming up at 730. back to you james. >> overnight a tornado ripped through hattiesburg, mississippi has injured 63 people. and 300 homes and businesses damaged. take a look at this new video just in to kron 4. this was shot from an apartment complex just after the tornado touched down yesterday. the town of hattiesburg is home to the university of southern mississippi which receives some damage from the tornado. >> no word yet on the

his holiness cited poor health and advancing age as a reason for giving up the papacy. but questions about what is next remain after an unprecedented decision in this modern age. >> i think he could not stand to see any more rot within the church and felt someone younger could do better. >> probes will be out of the public eye for at least a week as catholics prepare medicine -- meditation and services. >>> oscar pistorius' track career will be sidelined indefinitely because of the murder charges against him. he has to concentrate on allegations that he murdered his girlfriend. >>> danica patrick is no stranger to making history behind the wheel. she became the first woman to win and indy car series race and now another first. she will get the lead spot in next sunday's daytona 500 after becoming the first woman to qualify on the pole for a sprint cup race. she posted the fastest lap on sunday clocking 196.4 miles an hour. you can catch the day top a500 next sunday right here on fox 5. coverage starts at noon. that is really fast. >> yeah, it is fast. good for her makin

and i think he inherited a papacy that was much larger than life. be the papacy entering the modern world where people do retire and move on and i think in that sense all bets are off about the age of the new pope. >> that's interesting. when this broke as news, at least in the u.s., the perception was almost 100% negative. there must be a scandal, he must be tied to something, it must be vatileaks and there was other speculation that had to do with homosexuality and different types of extortion. however, when i saw it, at first blush it was, wow, what an opportunity for the catholic church because accepting the pope at his own word and there being no factual basis for no other suggestion at this point, he's saying it doesn't work for me right now and i'm going to do what i think is best. he then says this morning, in traditional papal mysterious language, the church is not of this world but it must see what the world is and we must understand our place in the world. you could look at it two ways, but maybe this is, father beck, a catalyst where it'

but what happens when a cardinal is elevated to the papacy is a mysterioious process.didn't know that john xxiii was going to be the great pope that he was, he we didn't know that votilla was going to be the great pope that he was, even though what we're seeing now in terms of the status of the church go back to him. he's the great figure in the fall of communism. he's one of the great popes of all time, and yet, this terrible difficulty of the role of the priesthood, of the role of women, became worse, as well as many other questions internally and institutionally during the papacy of john paul ii. now will a new pope in his mysterious way and through contemplation and prayer, and we're not going to know when he gets up at that window, after the grey smoke, and makes his first address to the people gathered where you are, what he is going to do. it's going to take a little bit of time. but the hope, i think, is that we will get a pope, the world will get a pope, this church will get a pope who thinks differently and perhaps thinks differently than what the cardinals'

he made it very clear that despite reports to the contrary he never felt alone during his papacy and he answered his critics who said that the pope should not come down off the cross, he said there are many different ways of staying on the cross and for him in retirement it will be a life of prayer and meditation. richard. >> the next pope will take over the world's largest church with 1 billion members world wide at a time of crisis with sex abuse scandal looming large in the minds of many and how church should adapt to modern challenges. george, good morning. thanks for being here. what's your thought. what will be the biggest challenges facing the next pope? >> when the next pope, richard, steps out on that st. peter's basilica first thing he has to communicate he's a man of profound and deep christian faith, a charismatic leader who can invite others to consider the faith of the church. second thing he has to do is take a grip on the bureaucratic disaster, frankly, that is the roman church today. there needs to be serious house cleaning in the vatican bureaucracy so the church be

he'll step down from the papacy thursday evening.he first pope to do so in 600 years but even in his final days as pope benedict can't escape the controversies that consumed much of his papacy. through a spokesman o'brien denies the charges is seeking legal counsel as always, why are you awake? shoot us an e-mail. or tweet us or me at bshactman >> still ahead on way too early -- the new york yankees suffer a major setback, curtis granderson hit by a pitch in his very first plate appearance. >>> plus -- >> i want to acknowledge steven spielberg. >> i want to thank canada. our friends in iran. >> he's a really jacked up. ben affleck might have been snubbed for best director nomination, but he had plenty to say when his film "argo" took best picture. >>> iraq launched a devastating schedule missile attack on saudi arabia. one. two. three. my credit card rewards are easy to remember with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card. earn 1% cash back everywhere, every time. [ both ] 2% back on groceries. [ all ] 3% on gas. no hoops to jump