[Whitfield:] Pope Francis has been calling on Catholics around the world to pray for Syria. He's been holding vigil in Vatican City telling the faithful that the search for peace is long and requires patience. The pontiff also asked for Catholics to fast in solidarity for Syrians who are suffering. CNN Vatican analyst, John Allen, is in Denver right now. So John, Pope Francis has also been very vocal against any kind of military action, U.S. or otherwise, in Syria, even writing to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Has the pope, to your knowledge, received any kind of acknowledgement from Putin?
[John Allen, Cnn Vatican Analyst:] Well, I don't think there's been any direct acknowledgement from Putin. But I do think he's succeeded in making the point to the world that the Vatican and Catholic Church have kind of launched an all out, full court diplomatic press to stop this idea of a western intervention in Syria. In addition to the letter to Putin and of course, last evening's prayer vigil in St. Peters Square, which sure about 100,000 people making it the largest anti-war gathering in the west since this idea began. The Vatican also called in all the ambassadors credited to the Vatican. It's about 180 countries including all the western powers trying to lay out the case against going to war in Syria. Fredricka, I think what's underneath this is the Vatican has both a humanitarian and the pastoral concern. At the humanitarian level, they're concerned that this could lead to a wider regional conflict and also stroke Islamic extremism. They're, of course, worried about the Christian minority in Syria. That's about 10 percent of the population of 22 million. The Vatican believes and this is being amplified by what the Christians themselves are saying that they could become the first victims of regime change. So for all those reasons, I think the indications of the Vatican are Pope Francis and his team are going to try to continue this diplomatic press to stop the west from going to war.
[Whitfield:] Interesting, so clearly the pope very influential among Catholics. But then one has to wonder, I understand many Catholic leaders are taking from his lead and actually sending petitions to members of Congress. How influential or how much of a difference is that expected to make?
[Allen:] Yes. The leaders of the U.S. Bishops Conference have written both to President Obama and to every member of Congress to try to sort of amplify the pope's message. Look, let's roll the clock back 10 years ago, John Paul II, who of course, we all expect will be named a saint sometime early next year launched an all out diplomatic campaign to stop the U.S. from going to Iraq. Was that effective? Well, at one level, it's easy to say no because of course, he didn't stop the war. On the other hand, it did significantly improve his standing in the Islamic world and created lines of communication that are still open today and some would say the pope's leadership helped create a wider clash of civilizations between the west and Islamic world. So it is entirely possible that what Pope Francis is doing today may not stop the Obama administration, but it may position him as a credible interlockular for the west and the Islamic world in a way that could be very helpful down the line Fredricka.
[Whitfield:] All right, John Allen, thanks so much. Always good to see you. U.S. Senator John McCain is endorsing President Obama's plan to strike against Syria, but says things could go horribly wrong for the commander in chief. Up next, why McCain is bringing up impeachment?