Celebrating holy mass for the selection of the new pope, their final gathering before the conclave officially begins later today and for the first time not one but two americans earned preconclave discussion as potential names on the electors short list. The americans let their personalities shine and thats getting people to talk about them. Whether its getting the cardinals to talk about them can another thing. Reporter Timothy Dolans charismatic charms made him a darling of the italian media even as hes thought to lead a group of reformers opposed to the bureaucracy. The cardinals in america are fond of him. Hes a very personable person, honest and direct and has a great sense of humor. Reporter the other american contender, 68yearold sean omalley of boston is considered as humble as dolan is gregarious. Thought to be a most important quality for the cardinal electorate. [ speaking a Foreign Language ] omalley prefers the simple habit over more ornate robes and his influence si of spanish, 40 of the catholics language and fighting the scourge has burnished his candidacy. To see the common touch is something new, something they havent seen in a while. Reporter still conventional wisdom the electorate would frown on giving the Worlds Largest superpower Supreme Control over the church, as well. If an american walks out on that loggia what would your reaction. My jaw would drop so much i would need recon truck tiff surgery after hitting the cobblestones on the piazza. Reporter north america could still claim the pontificate because of another strong contender from just slightly further north, the 68yearold hockey playing Cardinal Mark willett. He found the calling to god after suffering a hockey injury in his native quebec. No matter who steps on the loggia, the american cardinals have impacted the coming papacy and direction of the church in ways never before seen. Robin . All right, josh, thank you very much and with you there is diane sawyer, of course, leading our complete Team Coverage of the papal conclave. Shes at the vatican city anchor desk. Im not sure how much you packed in your suitcase. What are you hearing about how long this will take . Reporter ar, robin, so great to talk to you here amid the pageantry, the pilgrims coming to rome and on average, 3. 3 days has been how long its taken to elect a new pope. Its been about a hundred years since it took five days but keep in mind, these cardinals have already heard some 160 speeches about the future of the church, so many of them say or signal at least privately that they have some idea going in who they think should lead the church next. Well, theyve been together for the majority for some time right now. We look behind you and we see the gray skies. Of course, it all comes down to the smoke. Everybody is going to be looking at the chimney, white smoke means that a pope has been selected. Black smoke means not so much not yet, but we have seen in the past that it can sometimes be confusing, right, diane . Reporter it certainly can be. We all remember when Pope Benedict was elected that we looked at the skies and it was black, no, it was white, no, it was gray, no, it was black, no, it was white and we were all waiting for the giant bells to peal and issue confirmation. It really is amazing that in this age of twitter we are all Still Standing by and watching for the smoke as we will be again. But it is part of the ancient ritual. In fact, i kept thinking today as we looked at the scenes coming out of the basilica you could have been 400 years ago and this is exactly what you would have seen but it is truly wonderful to be here with these profound questions about this church and a changing time, this ancient belief, ancient faith and the changing world. We heard josh allude to it in his report, diane. There are many issues facing the church. How do the cardinals come together . Is there a sense theyre divided or united right now . Reporter well, you keep hearing over and over again from cardinals ive talked to and also from others that the biggest question is do you have a charismatic, global pope, or do you rededicate to the intellectual core of the faith alone . And, you know, we saw the picture this morning of the american cardinals leaving with their bags packed to go into the conclave. And they really have, as josh said, reminded everyone of the vitality and what it is to travel among the people and to create joy as well as a sense of possibility for this church. We see Cardinal Dolan always with a big smile that he has. Diane, great to see you in. Well be seeing much more of you because diane will anchor a special report from the vatican this morning when the conclave is scheduled to begin. It starts at 11 30 a. M. Eastern and diane will have all the latest on a special edition of world news tonight with the entire Abc News Team. So many eyes on rome but we turn to washington where president obama takes his Charm Offensive to capitol hill today. His latest personal diplomacy to get republicans and democrats to strike a deal on the budget. Abcs jon karl is at the white house and the president reaching out but both parties drawing lines in the sand and new republican budget coming from paul ryan. Reporter in a sign of how much work there is to be done paul ryans budget will have almost nothing that democrats like. It does balance the budget in ten years without any tax increases, george, but were talking deep spending cuts, even deeper than the sequester and he repeals the president S Health Care law so obviously a n nonstarter with democrats, but, george, then watch tomorrow. Senate democrats will have their own budget. Its going to include big tax increases and no balance so really the two sides just as far apart as ever when it comes to their budget. As to the president s dinner last week with republican senators some did seem to suggest they might be open to having some new revenues that the president would also come around with more reforms and the big entitlement programs. Do you get a sense of any Common Ground developing . Reporter well, a little bit, george. I dont want to overstate it, but i have to tell you, ive heard republicans, senior republicans, real conservatives for the first time in a long time saying things that are fairly positive about the president. One, Senate Republican called it tremendously sincere, this outreach so well see. Obviously a big mountain to climb here. Jon, thanks very much. Ill head to washington in a bit to sit down with president obama. That exclusive interview will air tonight on world news with more on gma and nightline. You have to leave early to get down there, george. Now to the surprise decision that stopped the supersized drink ban, the entire country was watching it. The ban against sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces was set to go into action today in new york city. At the last minute a judge struck down the controversial new rule. Abcs gio benitez is here with the latest. A lot of eyes on this. Good morning, robin. So you see how far reaching it would have been, this is a standard 20ounce bottle of soda. Had the law gone into effect today you wouldnt be able to buy this at most food establishments in new york city. This morning, new yorkers wont have to make that cataclysmic change of ordering only small sugary drinks. Just hours ago, they were bracing for the big drink apocalypse. This is one of the last ones. The last day. Reporter then a stunning reversal late monday, a state judge striking down that ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces. The judge siding with outraged soda company and businesses saying the prohibition has the potential to be more troubling than sugarsweetened beverages. He said it was too arbitrary because large drinks could still be sold at supermarkets and Convenience Stores but not at restaurants, movie theaters, corner delis or sports arenas. Some businesses had already spent big money on changes dumping supersized cups for smaller ones and dunkin donut has launched a whole campaign with these fliers and the syrup for your coffee, Dunkin Donuts would have given it to you separately and you would have had to pour it in yourself. Mayor bloomberg whose Health Crusade calling new york a nanny state fired back. In the moon time, 70,000 americans will die from obesity. 5,000 here in new york. Reporter how much sugar is in a glass of soda . Well, in 16 ounces youll find the equivalent of 27 cubes of sugar. But some new yorkers say having the freedom to choose their own drinks is, well, sweet. Good. Reporter good. People should make their own decisions. Reporter as you saw mayor bloomberg promises to appeal the judges decision. Meanwhile, the Beverage Association says its time to put this law behind us. Robin, george . All right, gio, thank you. Time for the other top stories developing and john muller in for our josh. Good morning, robin. We begin with the loss of more american lives in afghanistan. This time five u. S. Troops were killed in a chopper crash that went down overnight just outside of kandahar. Hostile fire does not appear to be the cause. A mechanical problem may be to blame. For the first time the u. S. Is pointing the finger at china for a string of severe cyberattacks. The white house says beijing must stop the widespread threat of data from u. S. Companies and government agencies. The treasury has sold off more of its stake in General Motors but virtually no chance taxpayers will get all 50 billion of the bailout back. To do that the remaining shares would have to be sold at more than twice their current price right now. Ben affleck may face a lawsuit over his movie argue go from iran. Iranian officials claim the movie is an unrealistic portrayal of air country and deciding how to file the lawsuit after seeing the movie in tehran last night. Finally a policeman in iowa being called a hero. Heres why. He pulled up as a car was being engulfed in flames. He was doing doughnuts in a Church Parking lot. He lost control, slammed into an airconditioning unit. As he battled the smoke the cop got the door open and got the driver to safety. Hell be charged with reckless driving. The cop next to the cop was an intern along for the ride. Pretty wild ride but definitely saved that teenagers life. He sure did. Now to the reports of what could be a massive hacking scandal. Financial information from some very famous people has been posted online. The list of possible victims runs from Michelle Obama and joe biden to Kim Kardashian. But is the information real . Abcs abb bie boudreau brings i to us. Reporter the department of justice tells us it will investigate. From the first lady, the Vice President to beyonce and jayz, this morning more than a dozen celebrity alisters and political heavy hitters have allegedly either had their most private financial details hacked or are now the victims of an elaborate hoax. On monday a website, the name of which abc news is not disclosing posted what hackers claim to be the Social Security numbers, credit card and personal banking information of a rapidly expanding list of stars in washington officials. The sites socalled secret files claim to reveal everything from how much Kim Kardashian pays for her car lease to ashton curbers American Express bill. Overnight abc news continued to reach out to those listed. So far none have commented. And now some experts believe this entire site could be a fraud designed to embarrass celebrities. Im very suspect of information thats released online that goes against the very reason you steal them. Its to use them so is this a prank, is it a hoax. Is it to get attention . Reporter in addition to the first lady, the website also targets fbi director Robert Mueller and u. S. Attorney general eric holder. This morning the department of justice tells abc news its now investigating. The site which appears to originate in russia shows more than 100,000 views since monday. Now investigators are hoping they can hunt down and shut down those behind it. This morning we tried one of the phone numbers listed for the Vice President and turned out to be a delaware feed store so will take digging to reveal whats real and not. You never know out there. Abbie, thanks very much. Lets go to lara. Very different story. Very different story. Good morning to you and to you. Yesterday all eyes were on the view on the heels of news that joy behar is leaving after 16 years. A lot of speculation that other changes might be afoot. But Barbara Walters stomped those rumors out as joy gave her reasons for saying goodbye as only joy could. Well, i have my joy top ten reasons for leaving the view. Reporter as joy comedically fired off her top ten reasons for leaving the view. Number nine, the glare from bill geddies head is giving me migraines. 8, i have a pathological fear of catching childhood diseases like mumps from barbara. [ applause ] reporter the hottest topic on the view monday was the show itself. Story after story about changes at the view. Reporter Barbara Walterss the views creator putting down rumors that Elisabeth Hasselbeck was leaving the show. We have no plans for elisabeth to leave the show. We value and appreciate her point of view. Its important to us because elisabeth helps give this show perspective and balance. Reporter the 35yearold who joined the cast in 2003 is known for her Strong Political views which have at times left her at odds with her cohosts. Call me a coward. I do not hide. Reporter and this morning with hasselbecks job secure speculation is now swirling about joys replacement. The names weve heard is Kirstie Alley or Brooke Shields or ali wentworth. I dont like my job to last longer than my marriage. Reporter theres definitely one view that isnt changing. The only person who cannot leave this show is me. Thats right. And, wow. One of those names was vaguely familiar. Vaguely familiar. Ali wentworth. She is my choice. You just went out on a limb. Joy, come on, she has been so funny, shes going to be so missed. Hard to replace. Agreed. Shes done a great job. You can see the view, of course, weekdays at 11 00 eastern, 10 00 pacific and central. George, i loved your declaration. Anybody else feel free to weigh in. I love my whoopi. That end of the table you leave it exactly the way it is. To the boards and talk a little about whats happening with the rain on the eastern seaboard. These numbers are comfortable. But no matter where you are from the tip of florida all the way up to the top of maine youve got the opportunity of picking up some showers today and some will be pretty heavy. Weve got i think flood watches out in five or six states mostly the northernmost states where you see 1 to 2 inch range possible. Some cases over 2 inches of rain. In the west this is nice and it stays all week. Very warm numbers, 74 in vegas today. Phoenix at about 81 degrees. Albuquerque, still about 60, san diego at 71. This warmth, as we said, wants to stay around. All that weather brought to you by Royal Caribbean cruise. No matter where you are on the east coast today take the umbrella. Its likely to be showery. Wah, wah, wah. Sound effects. Coming up, two High School Football players at the center of a case that turned an ohio town upside down. One of the players speaks out for the first time. Broken promises, broken prenups. A womans battle to do something thats never been done before. How she convinced the court to tear up her prenup. And behind the pulpit in a sensational new reality show pastors and teen daughters trying to keep those girls out of trouble. Valley harper sits down with robin coming up. Let our chefs take your lettuce from drab to fab with new lean cuisine salad additions. The perfect combination of grilled chicken ripe pineapple crunchy broccoli colorful carrots all topped with a savory ginger vinaigrette and crispy noodles. For 300 delicious calories. All you have to do is bring your own lettuce. Well dress it up. New lean cuisine salad additions. Just byol. Theyre the hottest thing to hit the frozen aisle. Nestle. Good food, good life. But im still stubbed up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesnt unstuff your nose. What . [ male announcer ] alkaseltzer plus liquid gels speeds relief to your worst cold symptoms plus has a decongestant for your stuffy nose. Thanks. Thats the cold truth to make Peanut Butter so deliciously creamy. 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A complaint filed with the department of social services, a teacher bound a twoyear old wrist and ankles with tape and she took, then, a photograph of the girl. Now sue has the commute. New problem, westbound on the bay bridge beyond the toll plaza, an accident where an injury recorded there, and southbound 688, at walnut creek, an early accident on the shoulder, but we stilt have slow traffic from 242 and, also, highway 4, westbound, continues to be a big bummer because we had two separate early accidents and this now is just cleared and 35 minutes into concord. When we come back our meteorologist ha we have low clouds and fog. Quartermile visibility is as low as it is in novato. And we have slight arrival delays at sfo. Foes and oakland seem to be running on temperature. Temperatures in the low 40s at walnut creek and palo alto and the 50s at union city, and richmond and the financial district and santa clara at 49. Temperatures this afternoon are in the 70s away from the coast where we will be stuck around 60. 60. Still warmest tomorrow but not [ male announcer ] citibanks app for ipad makes it easy for anne to manage her finances when shes on the go. Even when shes not going anywhere. Citibank for ipad. Easier banking. Standard at citibank. Okay. [ male announcer ] with citibanks popmoney, dan can easily send money by email right from his citibank account. Nice job ben. [ male announcer ] next up, the gutters. Citibank popmoney. Easier banking. Standard at citibank. Will you marry me . Yes. [ applause ] the tears and dan abrams in tears. It was a dramatic moment. Millions were waiting for the very popular bachelor sean lowe giving his final rose and then his heart to catherine and the couple revealing theyre not waiting long to tie the knot flying all night to be with us live and that is just ahead here on good morning america. You got back. Ginger zee really wanted to be here. She said i could stay away one more day. The show is the ultimate rorschach test. Half the crowd is saying thats so wonderful and the other is throwing tomatoes at the tv. Sean is a great guy. So true. Great to have sam back and john muller in for josh elliott who is, of course, covering the papal conclave. Its about to begin this morning. There he is on the big screen. Hi, josh. A little bow from josh. What could be a Landmark Legal case. You may think that a prenup could never be torn up. Not anymore. That woman right there had a judge side with her. She said that her husband had promised to tear up the prenup, never did. She has now won an unprecedented case that well talk about coming up. That is big. A lot of questions right there and then also ahead, the new controversial reality show, preachers trying to keep their teen daughters out of trouble. Good luck with that. Yeah, that is causing a lot of controversy. And our dear, dear friend Valerie Harper has touched all of us really and well have a live interview with her. She was just here a couple weeks ago and we all know that the diagnosis that she has learned in the meantime, and she has been so positive and uplifting and well have that conversation with her live coming sdmrup talking to her in just a bit. Right now we begin with the Sexual Assault trial tearing apart steubenville. Two High School Athletes are charged with assaulting a drunk girl and Elizabeth Vargas sat down with one for an exclusive interview. It is deeply dividing this small ohio town where High School Football is king. In a town of 18,000 people, the big red football stadium seats 10,000. So when two of the most promising players were charged with rape and other players were accused of posting photos and tweets about it on the internet, the story exploded sparking wild rumors and innuendo and attracting activist groups from around the country. A case that turned a small town in ohio upside down. Two High School Football stars charged with sexually assaulting an intoxicated 16yearold girl over the course of a night last august. The question is whether the girl was too drunk to consent. Social media reports of the event took on a life of their own. Accusations went flying dividing a town. All we want justice. Reporter with some convinced the police were slowing down the investigation to protect the beloved teen. My job is to stay focused on the evidence and not try this case in the social media. The only thing that we want to do is determine what the facts are, what the truth is. Reporter a cell phone photo that circulated from that note sparked outrage. The accused malik carrying the alleged victim by her arms and legs. She appears unconscious. While witnesses disagree over whether she was unable to walk, malik who spoke to us in an abc exclusive says she was awake and a willing participant in the photo. So you just grabbed her and that was a fun picture that you took . Well, after that i didnt think it was fun, but at first during that moment in the moment. It was a joke picture. Yes, maam. So you werent carrying her out. No. The boys attorney also try to make the case that the alleged victim was not incompass tailed but alert enough to remember the passcode on her phone later that night. The photo is what it is. The photo doesnt suggest that a person substantially is impaired but suggests a person you dont think that looks like substantial impairment. We dont care what it looks like. We know that after the photo was taken she exhibited the ability to make decisions. We have witnesses that will state that theyre going to testify that photograph was, in fact, staged. Reporter ma League Richmond maintains innocence saying he did not assault anyone. My friend texted me and he said that she is saying that you guys raped her. Reporter what did you think when you read that . And i just texted him like what are you talking about . Youre playing with me. We asked the alleged victim and attorney to comment on the photo and said the photograph contradicts the claim that she was being carried as part of a joke and went on to say just because an argument is made doesnt make it true. Elizabeth, attorneys for the other defendant filed a motion to dismiss this week. Why is that so critical . Because they are trying to subpoena the alleged victims best friends who have given incriminating statements to the police saying that she had made a plan to meet up with one of the accused rapists later on in the evening and therefore had given prior concept and that she might have even had a history of doing this kind of thing before but they cant subpoena these girls because theyre across state lines. This count is right on the border of West Virginia and ohio. The judge here has so much power. Huge legal youre talking about two sets of judge. A West Virginia judge saying i am not going to force these West Virginia kids to go to ohio to testify in the ohio case. Why . Because the judge said this is a juvenile proceeding. Its not a typical criminal case. And as a result, i dont think that the rules that apply in criminal cases about forcing people to testify necessarily apply in a juvenile case. Well, its an important distinction that a single juvenile judge will hear this starting this week. With all the emotion and rumor and innuendo in the town all the groups inside the town that came to protest and all the attention on the internet to have a single sober Juvenile Court judge thats good news for the defendant, i think, in this case. Particularly a judge not from this specific area. Yeah, hes been brought in. You can see more of her interview on 20 20 this friday next friday. Next friday at 10 00, 9 00 central. Thousanow to the landmark c that could determine how prenups are enforced in the future. A judge sided with a woman who said her husband promised to tear up their prenup but never did. Our john muller has that story for us. Reporter liz petrakis on her wedding day that went from there to this. What made her divorce such a disgusting process . A prenuptial agreement she signed four days before her wedding day stipulating her husband peter would keep all of his 20 million commercial real estate empire if they ever broke up. He said, you know, lets just leave it you sign it, were going to throw ill throw it out once we have children and that was what was promised me and i took that dear to my heart. Reporter peter never did rip up the prenup when the kids came. When the couple split, disspent seven years trying to do something that has never been done before. Convince the court to void a prenup. The real sad part about it is that, yes, the family is destroyed and do i wish reporter now her long fight has paid off. In february a court upheld two Prior Court Rulings to void the prenup on grounds it was fraudulently induced. Whats important to me is trying to help trying to make a difference and trying to save a life because divorce almost took my life. Okay. I almost lost my life. Reporter she may have turned Divorce Proceedings upside down. Giving greater credibility to the oral promise of tearing it up than they did the written prenup agreement. And that unusual. Im here to tell you i survived and so can you. Reporter now an expert and a ground breaker, liz has founded a company to help people get through divorces, but her own battle isnt quite finished yet. With the prenup issue finally behind her, at long last her own Divorce Proceedings can finally begin. I wish my family would have still been together but, unfortunately, sometimes money gets the best of people. Reporter now we did reach out to the husband for comment and did not hear back. Truly a landmark case, guys. Unanimous decision in her favor. Yes, the third court that upheld it. Thanks. Get back over to sam. Do you believe spring is march 20th . I mean it is this close. So its time to ask you, how was your winter . Well, if you really want to know we look at the big board and show you most of us it was a little bit warm and a little bit wet. Wetter than normal anyway in the northeast if you felt that way youre exactly right. Meanwhile, into the southwest it was a lot cooler than normal. Hawaii had a very wet winter, february getting, yeah, very heavy rain through that area so now we see this pattern where the jet stream is picking up the moisture in the pacific and dragging it into the northwest over the next several days. A very wet time period for seattle all the way to portland, olympia, eugene youre involved. 3 to 5 inches of rain in that area and there are flood watches all the way toward eugene as we said then cold air for the great lakes into the northeast so watch the temperatures come down over the next couple of days. May be warm and wet today but some cooler, drier air is head 68 degrees in dallas today. All that weather brought to you by walgreens . Spring, spring, spring, spring, spring, spring, spring, spring. Coming up we have the controversial new reality show about preachers trying to keep their teenage daughters out of trouble. [ male announcer ] when youre at the corner of im a new parent and i have no idea what im doing, you need a hand. Well, walgreens is innovating to help. By making prescription refills this easy. And were bringing our pharmacists out front to answer your questions. At walgreens, well do more than help you get well. Well help you stay well and live well. 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Back now with the controversial new reality show showing teen girls being raised by reverends with topics from motherhood and adult entertainment, you have to see it to believe it. Neal karlinsky has the story. Reporter if you think following the seemingly humdrum life of churchgoing families wouldnt hit the mark for a reality show, tonight your faith is television is about to be tested. A preachers daughter reporter preachers daughters, lifetimes new and at times jarringly lustful look at three teenage girls and their pastor parent struggles to rein them in. I want to start dating. Reporter from a mom pastor sex talk sermon to her daughter and friends. I want to define what i mean by having sex. Reporter to the preachers daughter who thinks a career in porn might be a good idea. God please dont ever let my daughter become a porn star. Reporter even before tonights debut, this show was already getting high marks from some critics but others believe it walks a tightrope between poor taste and religious reich chusness. We met one of the shows stars, olivia perry. Her father is a pastor and she is a teenage mom trying to get her life back on track. You had a drunk driving violation. You found out you were pregnant. And lost my license for a year. Reporter and lost your license for a year in one weekend and you were how old . 17 so i was hanging out with the wrong people, doing drugs, drinking. Reporter now a group called one million moms is call forego a boycott saying in a statement account to publicize someones struggles for a buck and belittle pastors daughters in the process is despicable. Lifetime isnt commenting. Networks never go into a show hoping people protest against it but they certainly dont mind if it helps them with their marketing effort. Reporter and in reality tv, the only sin is not being talked about. For good morning america, neal karlinsky, abc news, oceana, california. Our thanks to neal. Robins live interview with Valerie Harper. Stay with us on good morning america. When it comes to getting my family to eat breakfast, i need all the help i can get. I tell them, come straight to the table. I say, its breakfast time, not playtime. Theres fruit, milk and im putting a little nutella on your wholewheat toast. Funny, that last part gets through. [ male announcer ] serving nutella is quick and easy. Its great taste comes from a unique combination of simple ingredients like hazelnuts, skim milk and a hint of cocoa. Okay, plates in the sink, grab your backpacks [ male announcer ] nutella. Breakfast never tasted this good. Grown in america. Picked and packed at the peak of ripeness. The same essential nutrients as fresh. Del monte. Bursting with life. The same essential nutrients as fresh. 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Investigators say the people would owned the home have not lived there for years. Mike has the forecast. The fog is on the move. Good morning, everyone. It is thicker. Concord is now eighth of a mile visibility. Our best is 7 at the airport where we have flight arrival delays. So hang around until 10 00 or 11 00 and then off to warm weather. Slow traffic out there as we make our way to the antioch area, westbound highway 4, bumper to bumper with two separate problems gone but slow traffic into concord. San jose, still an accident san jose, still an accident north 85 at 17, slow on 101, as i just want to feel this moment whoa oh oh oh who cares about a little rain . We got umbrellas. We got smiles. Big crowd out in times square happy to be here on gma. A lot of texans here to welcome the bachelor and his new fiance catherine. He proposed dramatically on last nights bachelor. The crowd sounds pretty excited. Theyre waiting on the bachelor watch. Most highly anticipated finale ever of the bachelor. So many rooting for sean to find true love. He and his fiancee, catherine, flying all night to join us. Theyll be here live. Theyre in the tunnel. Yes, theyre in the tunnel on their way to be here shortly. Thats good. Now just wait till the bachelor couple gets here. No longer be the bachelor couple soon if i take this right. Now, lara, you and i were out in l. A. And introducing the new crowd of dancing with the stars, the new celebs. Well, guess what, theres a surprise announcement theres one more thats getting added. Who could it be . Someone ho is here to tell us who she might i dont think thats the surprise, is it . I think thats peta. Is that you, peta . Yes. Not going to say who peta will be dancing with. The person dancing with i think you could give peta is here. But not who shes dancing with. Now we know its a boy. Peta was a surprise and yes. I didnt know it was a double surprise. Thats all right. We still have more surprises coming up, everybody. Morning meeting. Hey, you know, jessica alba is also with us. So exciting. Such a gorgeous woman and great gal and shes got a new how to guide on raising a chic and Healthy Family and shes sharing some of her great tips this morning. I read the book last night. Really smart, really fun. Thats her. That describes her to a tee. We were talking in the commercial break, all of us and looking forward to talking to Valerie Harper. Her optimism and grace in the face of her Shocking Health diagnosis, there she is joining us live. She looks beautiful and has such a story to share with us and looking forward to talking sure does. Thank you for that kiss. But before we get to all that to josh. Hes live in st. Peters square right now in vatican city where the papal conclave is about to begin. Good morning, josh. Reporter good morning to you again, george. Again, after final mass this morning, in st. Peters basilica, the 115 cardinal lectors will enter the Sistine Chapel at approximately 4 30 p. M. Local time. Theyll swear a collective oath of secrecy and then they will get to the business finally of electing a new pope and for the first time in history, 2 american cardinals. Cardinal Timothy Dolan of new york and Cardinal Sean omalley of boston are thought to be on the short list of viable contenders, something experts told me was an absurd thought even two weeks ago. Now, its believed there will be a first vote tonight, though, and its been mostly ceremonial in nature. Those who are not serious contenders will get to hear their names aloud in the Sistine Chapel. Now, if no consensus has been reached tonight, the ballots will be burned and that resu resulting black smoke will signal a second day of conclave to come tomorrow, george. Certainly that will happen. Okay, josh, thanks very much. Lets go to john muller. Other developing stories right now. Good morning, everyone. We begin with president obamas socalled Charm Offensive, the first of three trips this week to capitol hill all aimed at shoring up a budget deal. Now, the president is hoping to get bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction but he is facing a new republican budget set to be released by paul ryan. It calls for deep spending cuts and a repeal of obama care. Well, score one for the beverage and Restaurant Industries here in new york. A judge has blocked the citys ban on sugar sweetened drinks bigger than 16 ounces and said there were too many loopholes and exemptions, it was supposed to go in effect today and the city plans to appeal. The Better Business bureau expelled its Southern California chapter following an abc news investigation. The local chapter is accused of fostering a pay for play culture willing to pay a membership fee and the corporation denies it and claims it cut ties with the bureau first. Some unbelievable video here showing a 22monthold boy briefly inhaling from a marijuana bong if you can believe that. The video of a mother in Washington State in big trouble. Shes in jail facing several charges. Her fiance also arrested. The toddler and another child now with child services. Quite a surprise in a philadelphia Dunkin Donuts. A woman drove her car in reverse right through the front window. No one was hurt although one man was knocked to the floor with his coffee. The woman at the wheel says her foot got caught on the gas. I hate it when that happens. Finally spring training isnt just for the ball players. Case in point, a drive down the Third Base Line in the phillies rays game. Its fair. You better tell that to the hooters girl out there. She fielded the ball and then she went to hand it off as a souvenir. Here you go. Cue the embarrassment. Remove the glasses for the mandatory closeup. There you go. She knew to remove the glasses. Wings and beers for everyone, i say, guys. How did you get that . Pop news. Yeah, but i have pop news for you, as well. Good morning, everybody. John, that was a good one. Hey, will smith made the day of hundreds of young fans last week so he was in london to see his son jaden perform as the opening act for Justin Bieber you may have heard but smith was inspired and did a little impromptu concert of his own. He stopped by an all girls school and performed the theme song to you guessed it fresh prince of bel air. Well, the crowd went wild. Nobody has forgotten that one at all. One student tweeted seeing will smith today has bryan the highlight of my life. A good sign. Thats good. You just want to get out there and give a little love. On tv, by the way. You flip around the channels, fresh prince of bel air. You know the words. No. Oh. Also in pop us news, we know ben affleck lost the beard but turns out he lost Something Else as well. Following his oscar win, he is stepping out with his wife at a fundraiser in hollywood over the weekend. And he tells us weekly, well, what hes been up to. Hes been, quote, eating a lot of ice cream on the couch in sweats since his film argo won best picture. He said its great to lay low and spend time with his wife and beautiful children. Hopefully hes got two now two oscars he has earned them. A few seal pups on puget sound giving surfing a try for some unknown reason and some with more success than others. Oh, gosh. This little guy just cant quite get it. Come on. He cant quite get on the board. Come on. Oh. Hes going this video by the way is about a half an hour long, fascinating. These seals are hanging out on the surfboard. Hell try again. Lets try one more time. Ooh, yeah, come on. And then i believe we have success. I love it. Just a Little Tuesday love for you. We have other success right now, as well. Yeah. We do. Is this just in . We have just heard that sean lowe and catherine have, indeed, arrived here at times square. They got through the tunnel. They got through the traffic, look no worse for the wear and here they come right now. The happy couple. [ cheers and applause ] oh, wow. Hi. Flew all night to join us. More from them coming up in just a little bit. Sam, part of the reason why the weather sloppy. It is. Welcome, welcome to times square. It is sloppy and messy. Rainy and messy all up and down the eastern seaboard. The picture out of philly. Philly is a part of that northeastern and midatlantic corridor getting the rain early, early. Eastern storm animation will show you theres not a lot of places that dont pick up rain today as that cold front on the coast, as that cold front wipes all the way down from maine well into florida. Theres some drier air behind it but get ready. This is a shot of drier, cooler air so the rest of the week, even though today is warm and wet, the rest of the week on the east coast is fairly cool. Heres the numbers on the west coast. 80 degrees in vegas on thursday and friday. We were going to get close to 90 degrees, we think, phoenix on thursday. Its a little early in the season to see that 90 degree good morning, minneapolis. You get about 29 degrees there. Lara, whats next on the morning menu. Thanks for asking, sam. Heres whats coming up on our morning menu. Robins live interview with Valerie Harper just ahead. Also coming up, the bachelor, sean and his new fiancee, catherine, are live and we also have a big surprise announcement for you. And superstar jessica alba is here live with tips on raising a happy, Healthy Family. All coming up live on gma in times square. Living with moderate to severe Rheumatoid Arthritis means living with pain. It could also mean living with joint damage. 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For gentle hair removal at far less than salon prices. Theres no place like home. Now i love gortons new simply bake. The foil bags bake in your oven to lock in flavour so fish comes out simply perfect. Trust the gortons fisherman hey, hey, taxi. Such a classic moment. Over 00 million of us were watching from the sitcom rhoda stars our dear friend Valerie Harper. First captured our hearts as Mary Tyler Moores neighbor in the sitcom and her new autobiography i, rhoda, made us laugh, made us cry. Today shes doing it again as she bravely faces a rare and incurable type of cancer that spread to her brain and, valerie sharper, joins us live this morning from los angeles. It is great to see, valerie. Youre looking not as thank you. Thought as great to see you, darling. You look like a big beautiful daffodil. I know. It is springtime. Spring, spring rebirth and that valerie, i have to say this to you, we we adored we adored your character rhoda but we love Valerie Harper and you have really allowed us into your hearts and thank you for allowing us to love you like this. I know every day is different. How do you feel today, valerie . I feel great. I have been feeling so much better than i did in, say, december when i had a few weird symptoms, oh, let me tell everybody, you guys at the table and everybody across america, this is bronchitis, it has nothing nothing to do with my condition in terms of the cancer, and its going away with the help of a great doctor, but its a lot of media ive been doing and then i got this infection so im fine. Dont go by my vice. I know. Thats part of the reason why you wanted to go public. Any little thing happens and people exaggerate and it is a very, of course, we know what youre facing and youve been so open wit. Youve always been upbeat. Youve always been positive. This isnt anything new for you but how helpful is it to have this outlook now . Its great because i can apply it to this new challenge and i felt a responsibility because the book ends with me saying im cancerfree, and this insidious disease four years later snuck back and i still have the message of frequent testing. I was getting screened every six months in my lungs, completely clear. After a wonderful surgery extended my life then, dr. Mckenna of cedarssinai and then im back add cedars again, i was on with you guys in january when we were testing. We did not know what it was. And two great hospitals there, roosevelt and then sloan, they both said this is what we think it is so i came home where i would be comfortable and settled and really had to drop out of my tour which Stefanie Powers is doing right now. Uhhuh. Yeah, shes tallulah and carrying on which was great and thats a lot of jobs. You know how you feel about that. The crew yeah. You dont want a show to close so thats good and the book is continuing, but i am doing book readings, im going to the movies with my husband. Im living very normally thanks to some stabilizing two pills only, morning and night and im feeling really good and while i am, because it is a brain situation and where i can talk to people, i thought let the extended family know at the same time one message through People Magazine to get it out there and then lets discuss it which is were all terminal. We really are, and we have a lot of fear around death and i thought, maybe i can help somebody if somebody doesnt, you know, get any value of it, its nothing. Its in the old days they say, you know, the newspaper comes out, it serves people or its under the canary cage the next day. You know what i mean . It doesnt matter but tony and i decided we would do this because i want people to be less and i want them to know the new realm of cancer that you can die with cancer but not of it and that theres a difference. Oh, yeah, and my darling, harold gould who was my dad on rhoda, he played morton morganstern, 13 years with battling and winning with Prostate Cancer and theres just a lot of things happening and my wonderful doctors natali and rudnick at cedars are even going right now on a specific course of medication for me that is not chemo. It is not chemo but you are receiving some sort of treatment . Oh, im on chemo now. Im on chemo. Were trying it because of where my cancer is in the blood brain barrier. Its just around the brain. This is whats so educational and so helpful for people. You are living with cancer. You are living your life and i know thats why it was so important for you and for tony and you talk about your dear husband and your daughter christina and thank you for allowing us to be in the extended family but i know your immediate family and friends, it seems like youre trying to comfort us, valerie, and we want to comfort you. I know, but this the joy of this. If i was gone youd be having memorials. This way we can, you know, share back and forth, the twitter and the facebook and people have been offering me jobs and i think i can do them. I mean right now so far if theyre willing to take the chance and im getting great advice from lots of folks, maybe not applicable to me, but i really welcome their concern or their telling me about a cancer doctor or a treatment or an alternate method. Im sure you got a lot of that, right gentleman. Yes, and i got a lot of people asking me to pass along information to you along those lines, and its because people love you, valerie. The concern, yes. The concern is legitimate. And the embrace and i want to tell them how supportive and loving and exciting it is to feel this in the here and now and thats it. Everybody, dont go to their funeral until the day of the funeral. Live this day im serious. Thank you. Live this day, yeah. Yeah, you know, your words are just ringing so true to many of us. To many of us, and i loved in your article and you said, stay as long as you can and i think thats what we all want to do and we have a finite amount of type, all of us and so thats true, yeah, and i im sorry, robin. I just wanted to get in that i have the most my husband when i first had the cancer four years ago, why you, val . Why not me. I have a fabulous husband. I have Health Insurance from my union. I wish it for all americans. Amen. Everybody should have a chance i have of extending my life and tony saying, well extend it long enough till something comes up that is a cure and my doctor said its incurable so far and i love that, not a shred, but a possibility. We all need to live in infinite possibility like you did, exactly like you did. Well, bless your heart. This is all about you, valerie. This is all thank you for allowing us to love you. Please take care of yourself. Keep in touch and we love you. I will. Thank you for that love. I feel it and i return it. Tenfold. Byebye, babe. Byebye, honey. Lara. Oh, what an inspiration, robin. Great interview and valerie, we do embrace you in the here and now. Words that we will always remember. Yeah, yeah. Good advice to everybody. Yep. All right, and we switch gears now to the number one topic burning up our gma heat index. It may have been the most anticipated finale ever on the bachelor. Sean finally finding love and making a dramatic proposal to catherine. The rose. Ill take it. Heres a look at their big moment. Looking so crazy in love will you marry me . Yes. [ cheers and applause ] all morning long. Sean, catherine, good morning. Welcome in. So great to meet you. Hi. Nice to see you. Nice to see you again. Thank you very much. Congratulations to both of you. Thank you very much. Long flight. I know its been a long journey so we thank you for coming to see us this morning. What a i mean its been a whole long story. I just did you know early on . I mean how early on did you know . It might now it can be told. You know, i went on to the show thinking im probably going to know who the top one, maybe two girls are the very first night. But thats that wasnt how it happened. Our relationship was slow to progress and then when it did, there came a point where i just knew. I cant see myself saying goodbye to this woman. You seem so nervous in the finale but in your heart, catherine, did you know that it would happen . Yes. Yeah, i did. I mean its a lifechanging moment so obviously i was overcome with emotion. Well, it is an exciting show. A lot of folks were there to see you guys. You know, theres another abc show that oddly is like set up right here. Peta, come here because were going to make a big announcement. No way. A whole new youre adding somebody new. Yes. Is that person in the studio. Oh, no way. Everybody, sean will be on dancing with the stars. Are you kidding me . Im going to make the transition over to dancing. Love that show. We love having you back on, by the way. But, wait a minute, how did this happen . How did it happen . Weve been keeping this a secret for awhile now. I mean we werent allowed so many secrets. Had you to keep this secret. I am so tired of keeping seeks but now theyre all out. Thats got to be a relief and now i would imagine you get to get a little training for the first dance. Exactly. Well, thats why i signed up. All in preparation. When we have our big day hopefully ill make her proud and wont embarrass myself on the dance floor. You did the proposal on the air. You found your woman, your partner on the air. Now youre doing dngz and youre going to have the wedding on tv. We thought it was only fitting. I mean our relationship was created and developed on tv so why not have the wedding on tv, as well. Have you thought, catherine, about what kind of wedding you want it to be . A traditional ceremony but we want to have fun and i know that just our personalities will bring that out anyway so all right. I got to talk about the switch, though. Youve had zero time to go from that show to a new show that requires an awful lot of practice. Is he going to be ready . Absolutely hes going to be ready. This is going to be one to watch. Cant wait so many shows. The bachelor. Dancing with the stars. And dancing with the stars. And the wedding. And the wedding. And more coming up here on good morning america. Thank you, guys, and congratulations. Thank you. Now from abc7 news. A pleasanton cool is holding a meeting tonight to answer questions about a criminal investigation into a child who was tied up for refusing to take a nap. It happened at center point christian preschool. A complaint filed a week ago with the D Social Services alleges that a former teacher bound a twoyearold girls wrists and ankles with tape. The teacher then took a photograph of the girl because she refused to take her nap. We will see how the commute is going. Sue hall, what do you see . Still a grind at the bay bridge toll plaza, bumper to bumper metering lights are on and the early accident is on. In san jose we have a couple of problems. First we led to northbound 87 at the capitol expressway an accident blocking a lane there and, also, northbound, 85. Kristen . We will check your forecast with our m Poor Visibility is an issue this morning. Check out where you live to see how bad it is. In the afternoon hours this will lift and temperatures will be above average, away from the coast, and our warmest wealth, still, announcer this is an abc news special report. Habemus. P p papam. Who will they elect . When will they decide. We take you inside the Sistine Chapel. An ancient tradition cloaked in secrecy and it begins right now. Live from abc news, the papal conclave, choosing the new pope. Now reporting from rome, italy, diane sawyer. And the good morning, it is a great to have all of you with us from rome, italy, it is an historic day and behind me is st. Peters basilica, the vatican where the Catholic Church no more profound moment preparing to select the 266th successor to st. Peter, the vicar of jesus, the bishop of rome. Let us show you whats happening inside the pauline chapel, you can study the faces there. 115 cardinals from 48 countries. It is called the conclave, the word itself means with key, because the cardinals will be locked in the Sistine Chapel for secret deliberations. They are preparing to make the solemn walk. And as we know it comes at a crossroads for the church. So many questions in a changing world. They will be walking through the 600yearold halls into that chapel as they have done for centuries as right now they are in the middle of the Prayer Services and watching it all with us 1. 2 billion catholics around the globe. 78 million in the United States and our entire Abc News Team across this city. Lets start right now outside st. Peters square with josh elliott. Once again in a few hours the worlds tension will turn to the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel once again taking its temporary home there. When a candidate has received a 2 3 majority and become the pope, the smoke that had been spewing forth black will turn white although recent history has shown us the difference between white and black smoke is harder to discern than one might think so theyll wait for the pealing of the bells, vatican city officially ratifying the pope. Shortly thereafter that man will step to the red scarlet draped balcony fronting st. Peters basilica, introduced by the simplest of latin faces, habemus p papam, we have a new pope. Even in this age, a ritual dependent on Smoke Signals and the language of ancient rome. Going back inside. What a majestic hall. We have a team here with me of experts and insiders to take you behind the scenes including our own Cokie Roberts and terry moran, her mother ambassador to the heal holy see. Cokie, tell us about these men as they are making the procession. Were seeing in front is altar boys but then we have the cardinals, as you said, 115 of them able to elect the pope. Anybody over 80 is not eligible to vote. Theyre walking through the beautiful sala reggia, a 16th century gorgeous hallway and where the pope has traditionally received heads of tates, monarchs and such and singing the beautiful lit enough the saints, singing one saints name after another and saying pray for us or two saint, both of you pray for us and they are processioning into that very special Sistine Chapel. 113 saints and one of the cardinals told me that this is the moment for him because he thinks back over all the years, sacrifice to the expectations of this church to the choices that must be made. Its a long walk, isnt it . And you mentioned the church at a crossroads. You might not think of it to look at them but its a generational crossroads too, both Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul ii born in the 1920s, the average age here is 71, which doesnt sound that young but its about the age of bob dylan and mick jagger. To reference a few. I also want to bring in his excellency archbishop gregory. As you study these face, tell us, do you feel as they have made this walk they have made up their mind or still a moment of prayer and discovery for them . Diane, i believe that the entire conclave process is really a prayer and no doubt most of them have given already some serious thought about whom they might support, but i believe that theres a genuine op openness as they hear the votes being tallied to see if, indeed, the spirit is moving the church towards a particular candidate. And we know that earlier Cardinal Dolan of new york tweeted there seems to be hope we could with gods guidance have a new holy father by thursday. So he was taking a chance there. I want to bring in john thavis author of the vatican diaries. Tell us about the dress, john, because the red is for the willingness to sacrifice your blood for jesus and there are 33 buttons. The life of christ and nothing is without symbolism here really, the 33 buttons reminds each cardinal of the 33 years that jesus lived on earth. And i want to interject this is the Sistine Chapel and there it is. It is always a breathtaking sight. You know, the fact michelangelo frescos. The cardinals are dressed in their choir robes and really from these opening scenes we can see this is not an election as we might imagine it in the outside world. This is a litter ji and really every single event that happens from this moment on will be framed by prayer. And i think the cardinals are very much aware that theyre asking at the very beginning gods help, the saints help and guidance and the holy spirits inspiration but i also think they know they dont have any guarantee that there will be a divine imprime tematur on the results. They have chairs assigned to them. There are tables, two rows of tables on either side as you can see in the Sistine Chapel as we said, there are nine frescos together, the creation of god and adam reaching out to the ceiling and the vote will be cast beneath the last judgment and many of them talk about the profound and sobering significance of that. We saw a little bit earlier a green book at each of their places and ill bring in father john walk now. The book is for the right of the conclave which explains each step in the process of electing the pope and really its like a missile you would bring to mass, the songs theyll sing theyll beginning [ speaking a Foreign Language ] invoking the holy spirits grace to enlighten them in their choice and really about prayer. The prayer of the whole church if you think about it. Its not just the cardinals who are praying, theres catholics all over the world who are praying right now and you ask to adopt a cardinal website where people are encouraged to adopt a cardinal, to pray for them, not to be elected but to be able to see and discern. Again, cokie, we think of an election and we think there will be a conversation, a debate in this room, in fact, the conversations have taken place. Theyve been conversing for a couple of weeks now. And one of the cardinals, that if tv pesky cameras were in there they would see how much silence there is. Its not like an election that any of us recognize. Among other things when we start looking at elections we look at demography and say how about the young people . There are no young people here. How about africanamerican, none of those either, theres some africans, how about women . Whoops, so i think that, you know, it is old mainly white men, but they are men who have been chosen as princes of the church and this is the responsibility that, yes, they politic, certainly they politic but they also do take this one a little more seriously than our normal policies. And theyve had some 161 speeches about the future of the church so far. Thats a lot of speeches, your excellency. I would say the speeches that have been made in the congregations, meetings of the cardinals are very important, but so have so has the conversations that theyve had informally with each other during these days theyve been meeting. But let me ask you, they try to persuade each other . Are these very delicate conversations or do they simply say there are 115 cardinals, some are very persuasive. Some are very diplomatic. Some are probably very direct because they do represent a wide variety of peoples. As we look at the incredibly beautiful ravishing Sistine Chapel, a couple of other things to point out, the floors have been covered and thats to protect them, as we have said earlier, on the ceiling, electrical interference so it can be completely in private. Well, and they swept the Sistine Chapel as part of the rules of procedure for any kind of listening devices or anything else like that because the sense is and i think youre hearing it in the comments here and you can see it and feel it in what theyre doing, it is their belief, the belief of catholics, their hope that theres someone else in that room. Yes, as one cardinal said were there to divine the will of god, not to impose it and because you both know, john walk, and john thavis, father walk, because you know these men so well and so do you, i wanted to ask what do you see in their faces right now . I would see a very seriousness. They are clearly very well aware of the importance of what theyre about to do, but i also see a prayerful countenance. They know they are at worship, and one of the reasons that the litany of the saints is being sung now and prayed is that worship links the entire church, both the church that has lived represented by those names of people throughout the centuries who have professed the faith and theyre asking them to be present with them right now. The church is the living and the dead and thats important thing to call to the minds of the cardinals at this point, the sense of responsibility that they have before the church, not just the church that you see, but the church of all times. At the same time im looking at some of these faces and i know that almost half of them have not and more than half of them have not participated in a conclave before. This is new to them and its got to be a little bit intimidating. I think that when you talk about politicking, prior to the conclave, thats a very important point to keep in mind, that its not necessarily politicking the way we usually think of it, advocating a candidate. A lot of it is much more like news gathering, what reporters do when they have to find out, you know, who the good source is to talk to about this candidate, i dont know. And one thing that they were very concerned about going into this conclave was that they not make some awful mistakes. This is a time when the church has been just besieged by scandals and so they need to be very careful about the man che thuz and i think that was taking some time, as well lets take just a moment and listen and absorb what it must be to stand beneath the judgment, to stand beneath the feeling of the Sistine Chapel and make this decision. And archbishop gregory we should say youre from atlanta. Yes. Tell us what will happen next. Well, they will be asked to jointly take an oath to follow all of the constitutional requirements that govern the conclave so they do that as a group and then individually they express their willingness to follow the rules. Its an oath of secrecy regarding everything that in any way relates to the election of the roman conclave and as we said earlier, they do have assigned seats. They have name cards. They are carefully arranged in order of seniority . Exactly. I think its important to remember within the Sistine Chapel, theyre there in order to have brought home to them the significance and the importance of what theyre doing. The idea that theyre in front of the last judgment and when they go up to vote, they carry the ballot and present it at the altar that we see right in front at the foot of the last judgment and on the wall you have the painting of the handing over the key that tells exactly what this a way the whole story these days is about the keys, the keys are the key to whats happening because its turning over the keys of the kingdom to the next pope and theyre under lock and key in the conclave. And promising to meet the judgment that they voted for no other reason but that they think this is the person to lead the Catholic Church and the voting itself, terry, take us through it. Well, they have one vote today which is considered a primary, if you will, because for all of the conversations, they dont really know and so this is going to be the moment of discovery, whos where and theyll have a night to reflect on that assuming they dont get a pope today which is what were assuming. Then two votes a day morning and afternoon. I should say they dont have to vote today. They could have four votes. Im sorry, two votes in the morning, two in the afternoon. So its late just imagining the responsibility and that they choose among themselves. And they write down the name in disguised handwriting as if anybody knows what anybodys handwriting is these days and brings it up and puts it in three achltornae urns. One to put them in to burn in. They are new urns but covered with symbols of the church. John, reviewed by three cardinals, called the scrutineers and three more called the revisers and read out loud. Every cardinal has a tally sheet in front of him and believe me theyre keeping count. I am told that the cardinals, because of this very formal and elaborate orchestration here, that the cardinals really do not feel free to chitchat with their neighbors, you know, they feel like, again theyre in a l liturgy. All night long over dinner and later conversations theyre going to be discussing the vote numbers and theyre going to be discussing candidacies. And we see now theyve taken off the barettas. Preparing to take the oath. After the singing of the vana creator. And they will pray in silence for a moment. Song is even older than the chapel itself. The song was attributed to ravenus maurus in the 9th century, so weve been singing it for a long time. Ancient ritual for a new day. There are so many reasons we wish you were with us. Among them, we can hear across the hills of rome, across the basicila the sounds of this ancient and beautiful song. They are preparing soon to take the group oath. They are reading the lyrics from a program handed to them and we saw, archbishop, one member at least with an unusual dress, an unusual hat. There are several of the cardinals who are of the eastern right traditions and they wear the garb that befits their dignity as eastern right bishops only in scarlet. And, again, cardinal ray, i believe, will be administering the group oath. Yes. He is the acting dean. Right, he is the ranking Cardinal Bishop that is one of the ranks of the college of cardinals. The people who outrank him are over 80 and so they cant be in this conclave. Translator protector and ruler of your church pour over us your servants we ask the spirit of understanding, truth and peace. So that with their entire hearts, they may know what is your will and follow it with all their strength through christ our lord. Translator amen. We all and singly involved in this election of the highest pontiff, the cardinal electors promi promise, vow and swear to faithfully and diligently observe and obey inviolate and perfect all those things contained in the apostolic constitution of the highest pontiff john paul ii, which begins with the words [ speaking latin ] published on the 22nd day of february in the year 1996. And also to preserve those changes made to it by the apostolic letter entitled normus non nulus by benedict xvi published on the 22 knott day of the month of february in the year 2013 moto propio. Also we promise, vow and swear that whoever of us as god dispose it so shall be elected roman pontiff will faithfully carry out the office of pastor of the Universal Church and will never cease to strenuously and honestly attend and protect the spiritual and temporal rights and liberty of the holy see. Moreover, we especially promise and swear whether clergymen or lay we will most religiously protect the secrecy of all those things, which in any way pertain to the election of the roman ponti pontiff. And all those things which are done in the election directly or indirectly regarding the selection and in no way will we violate this secrecy, either during the election of the new pontiff or even afterwards unless express authority be granted by said pontiff and also that we will provide no assistance or favor to any agreement, disagreement or interference of any kind by which secular authorities of any order or level or anybody of men or individual persons may wish to involve themselves in the election of the pontiff. And now we expect each of the 115 cardinals to take an individual oath of secrecy. John thavis, how serious is this, is excommunication a punishment. Excommunication is one of the punishments. At one point too the cardinals are told that this must weigh on your conscience very gravely, so the implication is that, yes, that youre condemning yourself actually by breaking the oath of secrecy and i think its interesting that the formulation we just heard really refers to interference by outside secular powers which, of course, goes back to the churchs ancient history when there were secular powers that tried to maneuver a conclaves result. As we watch the faces of those coming up to take the oath of secrecy were remembering that any single one of them could be pope. In fact, its not even necessary that they be cardinals, any male who has been baptized and is not married could be pope. Even someone who was married in theory could be pope actually. But they kind of stack the decks at the beginning because the prayer that was said at the very beginning of this said one of you, so i think they dont expect anybody outside that room. And we have a question from twitter, ill ask you, archbishop, can someone who is selected as pope turn it down . Yes, as a matter of fact, one of the first actions after the required votes have been announced so someone has received the 77 necessary votes, cardinal re will go to him and say, do you accept your election as supreme pontiff and he could say no but as soon as he said yes, he is the pope. And Cardinal Roger what honeny of los angeles, the First American to take the individual oath. There is another question from twitter, terry, why is there a stigma against an american pope . Well, the idea is that were powerful enough, that a superpower pope would be too much, but the church is changing in terms of its makeup and america is taking a more central position in a globalized church, a century ago there were a million catholics in africa. There are 150 million now. Same kind of change in latin america. The church has moved away in terms of population from europe, the United States takes a more pivotal role there. Nevertheless, the idea that there would be a superpower pope, its like they cant win the world cup either. Too much of a crushing disappointment to the rest of the world. And as we continue to watch these individual oaths, i want to keep the picture up so that we can see every cardinal coming by but i want to see if Ron Claiborne is listening because i keep thinking, what, 20 miles away from us across rome, there is someone also possibly sitting and watching and that is the pope emeritus, benedict, ron, if you can hear me, we know that he has been watching newscasts, yes . Reporter he has been believed to be following what has been going on, but having no contact with any of the individual cardinals, benedict may be the pope emeritus or former pope but in the words of one italian newspaper invisionable presence at the conclave. After all this is the first time in 600 year, 600 years that the former pope is still alive while theres been a conclave to pick his successor. Also keep in mind that 67 of the 115 elector cardinals were appointed cardinals by benedict xvi so you have to wonder as they meet, are they asking themselves who would benedict want as his successor and whoever we choose do we look for somebody that represents a break with the past, a break with benedict xvi or someone who represents continuity . As for benedict, he said in his last public appearance, almost two weeks ago, that he would pledge his obedience to whoever is chosen as his successor, diane. Well, ron, again theres another school of thought that theres a pendulum swing and we had Pope Benedict who seemed to like the formality, who seemed to be concerned about too much of the cultural dancing, the kissing the ground when he traveled, unlike his predecessor that we might swing back the
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