review board, frank keating. welcome to all of you. kind of a setup of a joke, a nice jewish boy moderating a discussion on catholics. when a church needs reform, as this one does, you know back to jesus christ. you felt that very strongly? i think one thing that unite all catholics is concern for the poor, and this basic way that jesus led his life. he was a jewish guy. if you can agree on that, the rest is easy. 3,000 years ago, the rest is sort of details. i think we have to go back. not that it should be reformation, but the idea of looking out for the poor and being humble. and loving each other. i mean, it s very basic, very positive and generous. it s not about the old order that jesus went into, which is rules and scribes and sticking by the rules, but the are are se things that could change. we could have women priests, we re not going to have a
become priests through ceremonies not sanctioned by the vatican. the emergence of pope francis does signal and era of change in the catholic church, the first pope from the jesuit order, the first modern day pope not from europe. but he is also known as a conservative voice, embracing the church s traditional values. is this a moment of encouragement for you? yeah, i feel it s too soon to say. i do definitely agree that there are a lot of firsts in this appointment. and i think that that means that it might be a good time for more firsts. reporter: kristina hater is expecting a lot from the new pope. not just a woman, she is also married. for now, she is studying for the priesthood but at a protestant seminary. she is a few years away from becoming ordained. scholars say such fundamental change seems unlikely when three out of four women priests are in the united states.
priesthood but at a protestant seminary. she is a few years away from becoming ordained. scholars say such fundamental change seems unlikely when three out of four women priests are in the united states. i don t think the ordaination of women is on the top of the list of the priorities that the cardinals are facing right now at the vatican. it s a very important issue in the united states. but catholics in the united states constitute 6% of global catholicism. reporter: the church for its part has been very clear on where it stands on this issue. as recently as 2010 the vatican declared that women becoming priests is a grave crime against church law. defiance like this doesn t come without a price. ex-communication means hater would not be allowed to take communion in the catholic church, denied the ritual central to the christian faith. and being denied communion at a catholic church would break my heart.
the church s traditional values. is this a moment of encouragement for you? yeah, i feel it s too soon to say. i do definitely agree that there are a lot of firsts in this appointment. and i think that that means that it might be a good time for more firsts. reporter: kristina hater is expecting a lot from the new pope. not just a woman, she is also married. for now, she is studying for the priesthood but at a protestant seminary. she is a few years away from becoming ordained. scholars say such fundamental change seems unlikely when three out of four women priests are in the united states. i don t think the ordaination of women is on the top of the list of the priorities that the cardinals are facing right now at the vatican. it s a very important issue in the united states. but catholics in the united states constitute 6% of global catholicism. reporter: the church for its part has been very clear on where it stands on this issue. as recently as 2010 the vatican
unacceptable. okay you want to put celibacy to the side, okay, let s do women priests to the side, okay. but you re wasting the money. you know the church has to deal with the poor. we must do better. the urgency of no half measures. no double-speak. aren t we at that point for the catholic church? i think we certainly are. and i think, actually, you referred a striking number of cardinals in the run-up to this conclave sound like chris cuomo in terms of what they want from the next pope. we use d to have the thing i, there s a big difference between 2013 and 2005 is that in 2005, the cardinals felt they had just witnessed the end of a massively, historically successful papacy. the primary thing they looked to do was keep momentum from john paul ii going. that s how they get john paul s right hand man in four ballots in the conclave. this time i think there s a perception that while benedict has been a magnificent teacher