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Choosing Francis: Behind locked doors
According to veteran Vatican journalist Marco Politi, the initial traction in the papal vote was not for then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
“From the first leaks we understand that there was a strong candidate,” Politi told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Thursday. “The Italian Archbishop of Milan, Scola, who entered the conclave with the strong determination of his supporters to make him Pope But in the first ballots he couldn’t provoke an ‘avalanche effect’ to get more and more votes.”
Politi said that Scola then stopped campaigning and a compromise “bridge builder” like Cardinal Bergoglio began to lead the way and that man is now Pope Francis.
In the video above Politi shares other fascinating details about the papal vote.
Everyone surprised by pope's selection, except this man
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio's name was not name in the media as one of the papal front runners in the past few weeks, even though it had been reported that Bergoglio came second to Pope Benedict XVI in 2005.
When CNN’s Christiane Amanpour about those reports, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick simply said, "That is what they say.” McCarrick would know if that is true, because he participated in the 2005 vote — keeping the promise he took to ever reveal details of that election.
Even though McCarrick didn't take part in Thursday's vote, he told Amanpour he wasn't surprised Bergoglio was selected. The media may not have seen it coming, but McCarrick said "many of us had thought about it beforehand." McCarrick believes that time was on Bergoglio's side; that with each inconclusive vote, it became more likely that the cardinals would gravitate toward Cardinal Bergoglio.
In the video above you can watch Amanpour's full interview with McCarrick and hear his thoughts about how a Latin American Pope could change the Catholic Church.
Pope Joan: Female pontiff is fact or fiction?
(CNN) - There are approximately 600 million Catholic women in the world, but none will have a direct say in who the next pope will be.
The 115 cardinals voting for the pope are men.
One of these men will be chosen to succeed Benedict XVI, continuing an exclusively male club.
Or is it? ((READ MORE))
Can the pope be fired?
Since Benedict XVI announced his resignation as pope, Church observers have been pondering whether a new precedent has been set. Could papal resignations become more commonplace? Could a pope even be fired?
“No, a pope could not be fired,” Cardinal Edward Egan told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour unequivocally on Tuesday. But he did leave open the possibility of a new precedent for popes to resign.
“The years do have an effect on all of us. And it can be that, at a certain point, our health is such that we aren't able to handle the job that has been assigned us,” Egan told Amanpour.
He compared it to the president of CNN, saying that if that person’s health was in decline he too might consider stepping down.
Amanpour replied, “Well, the head of CNN is obviously not infallible. The pope is.”
Egan acknowledged that there has not been much history of popes resigning in the Catholic Church, but said that that fact alone does not make it unacceptable.
“This wonderful man [Joseph Ratzinger] felt that he needed to step aside,” he said. “I suspect it was reasons of health. I have no inside information. He made the decision and I would say that I'm at peace with the decision. And I think the Catholic world is at peace with the decision.”
Top adviser to Ayatollah discusses nuclear negotiations
One of the top advisers to Iran’s Supreme Leader gave a hint of cautious optimism about rebuilding ties with the United States, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday.
Mohammad-Javad Larijani said that Iran is not “refraining or shying away” from talking to the United States.
“The issue is how we can restructure this relation, after 35 years of hostility and, right now, unfortunately, it's at the peak of that,” Larijani said.
There were new nuclear talks last month in Almaty, Kazakhstan between the U.S., Iran, and five other countries. The parties are due to meet again next month to see if they can resolve the crisis diplomatically and not militarily.
Both sides are publicly portraying the latest talks positively, although onlookers from Israel to Saudi Arabia say they remain skeptical that Iran intends to be fully transparent about its nuclear ambitions.
RELATED: Iran nuclear negotiator: Talks taking 'realistic' turn
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Salehi said the West is showing signs of good faith.
“I would like to share the view of Minister Salehi, but I'm a bit more cautious,” Larijani told Amanpour. “They are always asking the utmost,” Larijani added, saying the West would get more transparency if Iran got more cooperating from the West, alluding to the easing of sanctions.
The West wants Iran to stop producing and enriching uranium to 20% and Larijani signaled that Iran could agree to that under certain conditions.
“I think this is very simple,” he said. “They should sell it to us. If we can buy it like 15 years ago – we bought it [from] Argentina. Then there is no need to produce it.”
Larijani said it would be a “very bad request,” if the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and others were to ask Iran to stop its right to enrichment under NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) rules.
Though, he said Iran is ready to accept all mechanisms under the NPT to supervise this direction of its development.
When pressed about any type of opening for bilateral talks between the U.S. and Iran, Larijani did not rule out the possibility.
“My recommendation to the diplomatic machinery is that we should think about new models [of] approach.”
Americans killed by American drones
Can the United States government use a drone to kill an American citizen sitting in a cafe who doesn't pose an immediate threat? That’s precisely what U.S. Senator Rand Paul, a Republican of Kentucky, recently asked the United States government. The U.S. Attorney General answered the question, declaring any such action unlawful.
But the U.S. Justice Department did develop a legal analysis that cleared the path for the U.S. to use a drone to kill U.S.-born Anwar al-Awlaki, accused of plotting the so-called underwear bombing of a plane in 2009.
The Obama administration won't be able to keep the secretive, targeted assassination drone program, as closely under wraps any more. It's erupted into a full public airing over Obama's new CIA chief, John Brennan. In the video above, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour speaks with Pulitzer prize winning New York Times reporter Charles Savage, who has uncovered many of the details of the U.S. drone program.
What do the pope and the head of CNN have in common?
What do the pope and the head of CNN have in common? Cardinal Edward Egan tells Christiane Amanpour.
French FM on North Korea’s threats: ‘World needs China’s help’
North Korea’s government sounds more menacing by the day.
Last week the country threatened a preemptive nuclear strike against the United States. On Monday, North Korea said it will abandon the 60-year old armistice that ended the Korean War.
The South Korean government is worried, and now there are even calls for Seoul to develop its own nuclear arsenal.
In the video above, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour has an exclusive interview with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius about what the world must do to quell the threat from the Korean Peninsula.
Fabius says North Korea’s threat must be taken “very seriously,” but also believes the West must engage in “acute talks” with China, which he believes can play a key role in finding a solution.
Christiane Amanpour's tribute to courageous women
Amanpour's tribute to courageous women
Part 1: Conversations with some of bravest and most powerful women that CNN's Christiane Amanpour has interviewed.
Amanpour's tribute to courageous women
Part 2: Conversations with some of bravest and most powerful women that CNN's Christiane Amanpour has interviewed.
Amanpour's tribute to courageous women
Part 3: Conversations with some of bravest and most powerful women that CNN's Christiane Amanpour has interviewed.
In celebration of International Women's Day, CNN's Christiane Amanpour looks back at conversations she's had with some of bravest and most powerful women in the world. They include:
- Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the National League for Democracy in Burma
- Lindiwe Mazibuko, Member of South Africa's Parliament
- Christine Lagarde, Managing Director for theInternational Monetary Fund
- Princess Ameerah al-Taweel of Saudi Arabia
- Kiran Bedi, activist and former Police Chief in India
- Mary Elizabeth Williams, Senior Writer for Salon.com
Trying to make sense of North Korea’s belligerence
By Juliet Fuisz & Samuel Burke, CNN
If anyone thought last week's visit to North Korea by basketball star Dennis Rodman might have tempered Kim Jong-un's actions, Thursday’s broadside against the United States put an end to that notion.
The reclusive country threatened its enemies with the possibility of, "a preemptive nuclear attack." Even by North Korea’s bombastic standards, this was incredibly provocative.
Last month, Pyongyang had threatened to pull out of the armistice with the U.S. and South Korea that ended the Korean War back in 1953.
The international community reacted to this and especially to the North's third nuclear test last month, as it always does, with yet another round of apparently crippling sanctions. Though, this time Pyongyang's closest ally, China, is on board. But will it enforce them? And has China finally tired of its wayward ally?
In the video above CNN’s Christiane Amanpour puts those questions to Ambassador Christopher Hill, the former U.S. envoy to Seoul and the designated U.S. envoy to the North's nuclear file.
“They haven't been able to take a nuclear device and put it on a missile that we're aware of,” Hill told Amanpour. “There's no sign that they have any kind of deliverable nuclear device. So I would take this in the category of bombast.”
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