Michael Barbaro

And it happened pretty quickly.

Well, Jason, when you and I last spoke, the evening that Pope Francis had died, you laid out for us quite clearly the stakes around the question of who would succeed Francis. Would it be a pope in the mold of Francis who embodied his desire for inclusion over rules and religious purity?

Well, Jason, when you and I last spoke, the evening that Pope Francis had died, you laid out for us quite clearly the stakes around the question of who would succeed Francis. Would it be a pope in the mold of Francis who embodied his desire for inclusion over rules and religious purity?

Or might it be a pope who represented, as you put it, these powerful conservative forces and traditional instincts that were so frequently at odds with Francis? Did it feel like that was the guiding principle over this process? Yeah.

Or might it be a pope who represented, as you put it, these powerful conservative forces and traditional instincts that were so frequently at odds with Francis? Did it feel like that was the guiding principle over this process? Yeah.

Well, with that principle and influence seemingly guiding the process, it sounds like, Francis, a bit from the grave, hanging over all this, tell us about the mechanics of this election process, the unique rules around it, and what we understand happened behind closed doors. Well,

Well, with that principle and influence seemingly guiding the process, it sounds like, Francis, a bit from the grave, hanging over all this, tell us about the mechanics of this election process, the unique rules around it, and what we understand happened behind closed doors. Well,

We know the process as prescribed.

We know the process as prescribed.

And how many cardinals are voting and how many votes are needed?

And how many cardinals are voting and how many votes are needed?

It very much seems you're answering the question that hovered over this entire process. Which version of the Catholic Church... would emerge in a post-Francis era? And the answer is basically another Francis?

It very much seems you're answering the question that hovered over this entire process. Which version of the Catholic Church... would emerge in a post-Francis era? And the answer is basically another Francis?

We'll be right back. So Jason, tell us about the life story, the career, and the path through the church of this new pope and how past might be prologue when it comes to what his papacy might look like.

We'll be right back. So Jason, tell us about the life story, the career, and the path through the church of this new pope and how past might be prologue when it comes to what his papacy might look like.

Jason, just remind us why it would be seen as a non-starter to have an American pope.

Jason, just remind us why it would be seen as a non-starter to have an American pope.

Well, tell us more about his American roots. You said he's from Chicago.

Well, tell us more about his American roots. You said he's from Chicago.

Another way, perhaps, in which he is very much like Pope Francis. Yeah.