FACE TO FACE WITH POPE FRANCIS
THIS SUNDAY, “60 MINUTES” BROADCASTS EXCERPTS FROM A DOCUMENTARY OFFERING A RARE, INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF THE LEADER OF 1.3 BILLION CATHOLICS
Meet the pope. This Sunday, 60 MINUTES will broadcast excerpts from an unprecedented documentary on Francis that will show the pontiff in a way few ever get to see him. The documentary, “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word,” offers a rare and intimate experience, in which the pontiff speaks directly to the camera without notes in his native Spanish. Jon Wertheim interviews the film’s director, Wim Wenders, for the story, to be broadcast Sunday May 13 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Wenders speaks about filming the documentary and interviewing the pope. He tells Wertheim that Francis impresses him most with his courage. “He is the most fearless man I ever met…not influenced by polls…I don’t think he would ever consider any public opinion over something he means and he’s convinced of,” says Wenders. “He’s totally fearless, because he has a lot of opposition.”
Part of that opposition comes from the controversy surrounding priestly sexual abuse of children and the way the Church has handled it. Francis recently apologized for comments he made on a case in Chile. Wenders says that his question about pedophilia will show the world the pope is a man who can get angry. “We saw this anger once, really very strong,” he recalls. “It was almost physical…”
Looking into the camera, his anger etched on his face, Francis utters in Spanish, “Towards pedophilia, zero tolerance! And the Church must punish such priests who have that problem and bishops must remove…anyone with that disease…that includes to support the legal action by the parents before the civil courts,” Francis says in the film. “There is no other way... Zero tolerance because it’s a crime. No! Worse! It’s leaving them alive but destroyed.”
Other excerpts from the film include the pope telling his priests to get more involved with their followers and exhorting the faithful to slow their frenetic lives down to avoid the toll such stress takes on their mental, spiritual and physical health.
The pope speaks plainly and directly, sometimes employing humor with a smile and a laugh. “If you ask me, ‘Give me an example of beauty, simple everyday beauty, with which we can help others feel better and be happier,’ two things come to my mind. A smile, and a sense of humor.”
“60 MINUTES” LISTINGS FOR SUNDAY, MAY 13
7:00-8:00PM, ET/PT
100,000 WOMEN – More than 100,000 American women are suing over a medical device implanted in their bodies called gynecological mesh in what has become the largest multi-district litigation since asbestos. Scott Pelley reports on one manufacturer of the devices, Boston Scientific, which is facing 48,000 lawsuits. Oriana Zill de Granados and Michael Rey are the producers.
SAVING A GENERATION – A million children now live with their grandparents primarily due to their parents’ addictions, increasingly because of opioids. Bill Whitaker looks at this little noticed aspect of the opioid crisis that is seriously impacting the golden years of many Americans. Robert G. Anderson and Aaron Weisz are the producers.
SHOCK THERAPY – Long stigmatized, electroconvulsive therapy – or “shock therapy” – is actually a very effective treatment for depression. Now doctors are using a new method with magnets that hopes to eliminate the sometime side effect of memory loss. Anderson Cooper reports. Sarah Koch is the producer.
8:00-9:00PM, ET/PT
POPE FRANCIS – 60 MINUTES broadcasts excerpts from an unprecedented documentary on Pope Francis. The film, directed by Wim Wenders, is called “Pope Francis: A Man of His Word,” and offers a poignant encounter with the sitting pope, who speaks spontaneously and directly to camera. Jon Wertheim is the correspondent. Graham Messick is the producer.
AT THE ZOO – Something’s happening at the zoo that visitors don’t see: Lesley Stahl takes a look at the elaborate mix of science, software and genetics that goes into populating their exhibits with animals, while conserving endangered species. Shari Finkelstein is the producer.
“ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST” GAVE SHOCK THERAPY A BAD NAME AND KEEPS SOME DEPRESSION SUFFERERS AWAY FROM A SUCCESSFUL THERAPY, THIS SUNDAY ON “60 MINUTES”
Promising Newer Treatment Using Magnets Under Study
A great film has given a bad name to what many consider a good medical treatment. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), or “shock treatment,” was portrayed in 1976’s Best Picture-winning film “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” as a jarring, painful experience. But it’s not done that way anymore. Today, doctors consider ECT the most effective treatment for depression when drugs don’t work, which is the case 35 percent of the time. Anderson Cooper examines the treatment and a newer, gentler, experimental version of it on the next edition of 60 MINUTES, Sunday, May 13 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Dr. Charlie Welch, of McLean Psychiatric Hospital outside Boston, believes ECT could be helping more of America’s estimated five million people suffering from treatment-resistant depression. Just about 1 percent of those who might benefit from it have tried it. “Clearly, ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ gave ECT a bad name because that’s not how it actually is done,” he says. “What’s different, first of all, is that it’s done under general anesthesia with a muscle relaxant. So when the treatment is done, the patient is sound asleep and completely relaxed.”
Kitty Dukakis, wife of former Mass. governor and Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, took numerous medications over 17 years before finally seeing Dr. Welch. “One would think that somehow, sometime earlier than 17 years, somebody would have said, ‘Hey, go see Doctor Welch,’” Dukakis tells Cooper. She allowed 60 MINUTES cameras to tape her before, during and after one of the periodic ECT treatments that husband Michael credits with saving her life. She thinks others may be afraid to try it. “I'm convinced that – that if I can be that public, that it will help others.”
One drawback of the treatment is it can cause memory loss, mostly short-term but, in rare cases, permanent. Dr. Sarah Lisanby has been trying for decades to solve that problem and has come up with a promising experimental treatment using magnets called magnetic seizure therapy. MST is similar to ECT, causing the brain to have a seizure, but the magnets are a more gentle way that can target just the parts of the brain associated with depression. A 2015 study comparing MST to ECT observed that MST patients did not experience the same memory loss ECT patients had.
Doctors are comparing the two treatments in the first large coordinated trial by the National Institute of Mental Health. It will span five years and involve more than 250 patients.
Says Dr. Lisanby, “For some people, ECT may still be needed. But if magnetic seizure therapy could be effective without the memory loss, who wouldn’t want to try that first?”
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