With conclave start date set, predictions and expectations for new pope abound

>>> we've got a 2013 pope watch update. after days of anticipation, the conclave to elect the new pope will begin on tuesday once the voting does start, the question then immediately becomes, how long will the conclave last?

>> if a conclave goes more than that week, they have a bigger problem than simply missing holy week. they've got a very divided conclave that is having a hard time picking a pope.

>> just to give everyone a reference, the longest papal election lasted three years back in the 13th cent kri and shortest is 10 hours back in 1503 . nobody knows how long the election will last but all eyes certainly on the conclave smoke signals and in the guest spot today is network executive director sisser is simone campbell. sister, thank you so much for coming back to the show. want you to weigh in. what are you hoping for out of the papal election ? are there certain qualities you're looking for? do you have a favorite in the group of likely pope successors?

>> i don't know that a college of cardinals well enough to have a favorite but i do know what i see that we need is someone who understands the modern world , who embraces the global reality that we are a global -- not only a global church , but we are also a global economy , and continuing pope benedict 's challenge to be economically responsible for everyone in our globe, but also, coming at it with more of a pastoral heart. understanding pluralism is what i hope for most because in a pluralistic world we can welcome in everyone.

>> sister, i think the new pope, whoever they choose, that's important for the future of the church and more important than that is dealing with the sex scandal in a very open and up front and transparent way. it's not just a scandal but theover-up. we used to think of the church where everyone had a tremendous amount of character and that's hard to say and some people embarrassed to be associated with the church . don't we need to deed with that to get the church back on the right track?

>> certainly. i think we do. and unfortunately, not just in the united states . but in other countries, as well. but what i think the key here is that within the united states , we've sort of quote dealt with it as a legal issue. we haven't really had our hearts broken by what people have suffered and i don't believe our church has learned how to atone, to let your hearts be broken and change the system that created this horrible, horrible sin. and, it's that challenge that i think the leadership needs to have. but to face up to. but that is an element of pluralism where we see that there are different responses and we need to make sure that we are responding in the ways that are needed now, not just in the ways of the past.

>> you know, sister, there's been a lot of polling about sort of who and what the catholic church is all about in the united states these days in the run-up to the conclave and noticing a disconnect there. looking at cultural, social issues and looking at the population of this country, young people are generally the liberalizing, modernizing force, especially on an issue like gay marriage comes to mind. when you poll catholics , there's a cbs news/"the new york times" poll that found more conservative of attitudes of younger catholics than middle aged and older catholics . abortion is one of them. more conservative. 18 to 44-year-olds. another one, infallibility of the pope. there's more skepticism about that sort of older you get. more acceptance of that younger. i wonder, is that something you have noticed? is there a possibility here that as the younger generation kind of comes in the majority and takes over the church becomes more conservative?

>> i don't know. i've just returned from talking at several different colleges and universities and i haven't found this to be true. what i found is that there is a deep hunger for the social gospel , for being aware that jesus calls us to respond to the needs of those at the margins in the society and maybe i had a -- drew an odd cross-section but i quite frankly saw a church quite alive, quite concerned. i do think, though, that younger people are more reticent about identifying themselves as catholic because often they see that it's identified as only that traditional conservative individual message and not the bigger picture. but i certainly can say wherever i've spoken at colleges and universities there's a wide view of what it does mean to live our faith.

>> well, sister, dionne for "the washington post " wrote a column saying we should have a nun for the next pope and that got me thinking. i know just the lady, sister simone for pope. what do you think?

>> oh, oh my glory. there's a thing out there on twitter and facebook but quite frankly , you have to look at it. that is very challenging time. whoever gets this job is going to have really a weighty job ahead of him because he's facing not only the sexual abuse scandals which are as broader than just the united states , financial scandals within the vatican which need to be addressed and another diocese, i understand, but also, trying to bring us together to not just be about scolding and rules but to open up as jesus did to welcome in everyone. that's a huge challenge that they're facing and quite frankly a daunting task, so while i enjoy the humor of putting me up, it's pretty funny, the fact is it would be a tremendously weighty responsibility for anyone.

>> certainly. but i think you would be spectacular at it, enough to bring me back to my catholic roots. thank you so much for coming back on.

>> thank you.

>>> as i said, conclave begins tuesday to pick the next pope. hopefully doesn't take as long as cardinals took back in 1271 . three years is pretty long time there, guys. so how long do you think this selection will take? michael says if you divide the cardinals by geographic regions by their average work week hours subtract the number of meals per day and multiple the bells tolled daily, it should take four days. some number crunching . is this from steve?

>> let's hold him to this.

>> check back in. jared cuts to the chase. a month at most. i want a cycle coffee mug , too. we are in the business of making people's dreams come true. a mug will be on the way! maybe a toure tv mug. we have a bunch of those.

>> oh really? oh really? okay! i see how we're playing the game.

>> see, liking us on facebooks has benefits.

>>> up next, the trial everyone's talking about. if jodi was abused, is that a defense that can be measured? [