http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/cardinals-choose-pope-succeed-benedict-181023715.html


White smoke appeared from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel, and bells from St. Peter's Basilica have pealed, meaning the 115 Roman Catholic cardinals gathered at the Vatican from all over the world have chosen a new pope.

The church's 266th pontiff will replace Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation last month prompted the cardinals to initiate a conclave, a Latin phrase meaning "with a key," to pick a new leader for the world's almost 2 billion Catholics.

Although it's not immediately clear who received the necessary two-thirds vote, several candidates were mentioned as front runners, including what could be the first African pope or the first pope from the U.S. or Canada.

The new church leader takes over an organization many say is in crisis, from damaging allegations of internal squabbling to the cover-up and abetting of sexual abuse, though the latter issue came to light before Benedict's papacy.

Some sources say the Catholic Church in the U.S. has paid out as much as $3 billion to settle sexual abuse claims, though others estimate a billion less. At least eight U.S. Catholic dioceses declared bankruptcy protection. Benedict said in a 1998 U.S. visit that he was ashamed of the sex abuse scandal, and assured that the church would not allow pedophiles to become priests.

The Pope Emeritus also faced criticism for his role in overseeing the church's reaction to the sexual abuse crisis, as well as revelations from the "Vatileaks" incident. The pope's butler was implicated in the leaking of documents that included what Italian media first characterized as evidence of blackmail and disarray among church leaders regarding how to address growing concerns about money laundering.

Though Benedict basically dismissed those allegations as exaggerated, he remarked that the leaks and results of the ensuing investigation he commissioned had saddened him. Church outsiders have speculated that the results of Benedict's investigation may have led to his decision to resign from the papacy, a move unprecedented in six centuries.

The new pope will also face pressure to modernize the church on issues from reforming the clergy to allowing contraception. It's unclear if the cardinals will pick a pope who will change the church or a conservative leader who will remain dedicated to its current principals.

man, i was getting worried... now i will be able to sleep tonight...

Good for you!

I hope this ones not too pooped to pope.

Let's hope so!

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/new-pope-chosen-argentinian-jorge-mario-bergoglio-1.1193437

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge_Bergoglio

Lets hope this new pope can and will address the tradition of child molestation and remove all the pedophiles.

He's from Argentina I heard?

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires has been elected to be the 266th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Francis.

He is the first Latin American pope to lead the church, as well as the first Jesuit priest.

Francis, 76, appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at Wednesday more than an hour after white smoke was released from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 2:05 EDT (7:05 p.m. CET) to signal that a new pope had been selected. Speaking from the balcony, he gave his first address as pope, the traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the "City and the World"), as crowds waved, cried and cheered for the new leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

He prayed for the church, the papacy and for his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.

Francis was elected to the papacy after two days of conclave meetings with five rounds of voting. Voting in the conclave, which began Tuesday afternoon, is confidential and cardinals were sworn to secrecy, but Francis received at least 77 votes, which is the minimum two-thirds required to become pope. There were 115 cardinals eligible to vote in the conclave. All were under 80 before Benedict's retirement, as required by Vatican rules. In 2005, when Benedict was elected, it took two days and four votes to elect him.

Francis, whose papacy is effective immediately, will be formally installed in the coming days. It's unclear when the installation Mass will happen, but Vatican spokesman Fr. Frederico Lombardi said earlier on Wednesday that Tuesday, March 19, the feast of St. Joseph, is a possible date. He spoke before white smoke signaled news of a new pope, and it was unclear if he expected a decision on Wednesday. Lombardi also said in the same interview that the new pope would likely celebrate Mass with the cardinals the morning after his election.

The day of a papal installation typically begins with a visit with cardinals to the grottos of St. Peter's Basilica, where the first pope, St. Peter, is said to be buried. There, the new pope is expected to say, "I leave from where the apostle arrived" before a procession to the square and the installation Mass (the Mass lasted two hours for Benedict's installation in 2005).

At the installation Mass, Francis is expected to receive the Fisherman's Ring made for his papacy (the one Benedict wore was given up when he retired on Feb. 28 and purposely damaged by Vatican authorities per tradition) as well as the pallium, the woolen stole that's a symbol of his authority.

When Benedict was elected, 12 church representatives knelt in front of him at the installation: three cardinals, one bishop, a priest, a deacon, a married couple, a nun and man from a religious order, and two young people who have had their confirmations -- a key sacrament of the faith. A similar group is expected to kneel in front of Francis as a symbolic pledge of obedience.

After the Mass, the new pope customarily is driven around St. Peter's Square to greet groups of priests and laypeople from around the world who have come to see him. In the days after, he is expected to visit the three main Roman basilicas aside from St. Peter's: St. Paul's, St. John Lateran's and St. Mary Major's. The first visit is usually to St. Paul -- outside the Vatican City walls.

For his first few weeks as pope, Francis will live in a temporary apartment away from the official papal residence. Vatican spokesman Lombardi previously showed reporters a video of new pope's short-term home, which has a study, a sitting area and a carving of Jesus Christ's face on the headboard of the bed. Francis will stay there while the official papal apartment is renovated. The apartment was sealed after Benedict's resignation and church rules say it can't be reopened for any reason until there is a new pope.

the last pope said he would, and it just got worse... i can't understand why they hide these sex perverts, they should be punished to the full extent of the law...

South American Catholics have a tradition of following Liberation Theology.

I hope he can handle leadership at his age 76 bit older than I thought the New pope would be. It was said earlier on World News, the new elected pope would probably be in his 60's.

Maybe it was for the best. I couldn't make out a word he was saying. And how do they get their smoke to change colours? How could I make mine blue?

Let's hope that Francis I is a real bridge builder the way that John Paul II was.

What gets me is how they are above the law?



PS
Any of them check to see if he has any kids in his closet?

Not this one!

I find it sad to see so many people saying negative things about the new Pope of the Roman Catholic Church so quickly.

Yes, let's give him time to f**k up on his own.

I was rootin for Ernest Borgnine cept he died.