Welby praises new Pope’s ‘simplicity’; Ordinariate in question

From The Church Times-

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has praised the "simplicity and holiness" of Cardinal Bergoglio, the newly elected Pope Francis.

"We wish Pope Francis every blessing in the enormous responsibilities that he has assumed on behalf of Roman Catholics around the world.

"His election is also of great significance to Christians everywhere, not least among Anglicans. We have long since recognised - and often reaffirmed - that our Churches hold a special place for one another. I look forward to meeting Pope Francis, and to walking and working together to build on the consistent legacy of our predecessors. May the love of Christ unite us, and intensify our service in a genuine and fruitful ecumenism that can be a blessing for the Body of Christ throughout the world.

"Pope Francis is well known as a compassionate pastor of real stature who has served the poor in Latin America, and whose simplicity and holiness of life is remarkable. He is an evangelist, sharing the love of Christ which he himself knows. His choice of the name Francis suggests that he wants to call us all back to the transformation that St Francis knew and brought to the whole of Europe, fired by contemplation and closeness to God."

More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/15-march/news/world/welby-praises-new-pope’s-‘simplicity’-ordinariate-in-question

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina elected pope, takes name Pope Francis

From The Washington Post-

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope Wednesday, becoming the first pontiff from Latin America and taking the name Pope Francis.

Appearing on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica a short time later, the new pope greeted a vast crowd gathered below in St. Peter’s Square with salutations in Italian and led a prayer for his predecessor, Benedict XVI.

“As you know, the duty of the conclave was to appoint a bishop of Rome, and it seems to me that my brother cardinals went to fetch him at the end of the world,” he said.

Moments earlier, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the church’s most senior cardinal in the order of deacons, or the proto-deacon, announced “habemus papam” and spoke the name of the new pope, chosen on the second day of deliberations by the assembled cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. But his words were barely audible to the throng in the square, and there was initial confusion over the identity of the new leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.

“It’s a genius move,” Marco Politi, a papal biographer and veteran Vatican watcher, said of the choice of Bergoglio. “It’s a non-Italian, non-European, not a man of the Roman government. It’s an opening to the Third World, a moderate. By taking the name Francis, it means a completely new beginning.”
More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/on-day-2-of-papal-conclave-alliances-should-take-shape/2013/03/13/5d88b616-8bba-11e2-9838-d62f083ba93f_story.html

Black Smoke Rises; No Pope Chosen in New Voting

From The New York Times-

Black smoke billowed from a makeshift chimney atop the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, signaling that the 115 cardinals of the Roman Catholic church eligible to vote for a new pope had again failed to elect a successor to Benedict XVI and meaning that balloting would continue until they do.

A first ballot also ended inconclusively on Tuesday, signaled by the inky black smoke from the copper chimney jutting from the chapel’s roof.

Voting is set to continue — up to two rounds in the morning and two in the afternoon — until the cardinals reach a two-thirds majority of 77 votes. At that point, white smoke will billow forth, telling the world’s one billion-plus Roman Catholics they have a new leader to take on the myriad challenges confronting their church. The bells of St. Peter’s Basilica will peal over the huge piazza of the same name to announce the election of Benedict’s successor.

It was not immediately clear how many rounds had been held on Wednesday before the black smoke emerged.In what was scheduled to be the first full day of balloting since the conclave began on Tuesday, the prelates celebrated a morning mass in the Pauline Chapel of the Apostolic Palace before the anticipated voting in the Sistine Chapel under 16th century frescoes by Michelangelo.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/14/world/europe/vatican-pope-selection-conclave.html?_r=0

Cardinals head to conclave to elect pope for troubled Church

From Reuters-

Roman Catholic cardinals prayed for divine help on Tuesday, hours before a conclave to elect a new pope to tackle the daunting problems facing the Church at one of the most difficult periods in its history.

The cardinals, including the 115 aged under 80 who will vote for the next pope, filed into St. Peter's Basilica as choirs sang at the ritual solemn Mass that precedes a conclave.

They prayed that God would inspire them to choose the right man to replace Pope Benedict, who abdicated abruptly last month saying he was not strong enough to confront the woes of a Church whose 1.2 billion members look to Rome for leadership.

The Mass was the last event for the cardinals as a group before they enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday afternoon and make their choice for the next pontiff before Michelangelo's famous fresco of the Last Judgment.

In his homily, Italy's Angelo Sodano, dean of the cardinals, said they should pray "that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart".

More here-

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/12/us-pope-succession-idUSBRE92808520130312

Michael Valpy: Handicapping the papal contenders

From The CBC-

So this is how a papal election gets going.

On the conclave's first afternoon, the 115 cardinal-electors gather in the Apostolic Palace's intimate (as intimate as things get in the Vatican), nearly 500-year-old Pauline Chapel.

There they hear a sermon telling them they're obliged to vote for the best man among them to lead the Roman Catholic Church. Then, wearing what's called "choir dress" — cassock, surplice, cape and hat — and singing the 9th-century hymn Veni Creator Spiritus, they proceed out and up the Scala Regia (the Regal Staircase) into the Sistine Chapel.

Once they're there and settled, the doors are locked "with key," which is what conclave means, and the voting begins. The question is: How do they make up their minds?
More here-

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/03/08/f-vp-valpy-papal-contenders.html

Why Protestants should care who becomes pope

From Alabama-

The entire world is watching the Vatican – or is it?

Decidedly, the 1.2 billion Roman Catholics across the globe have a stake in who is elected pope to take the place of retired Pope Benedict XVI. He is their leader. But what about Baptists, Methodists, Episcopalians and others? What’s in it for them?

Beyond the historical significance of a pope retiring and two popes living on Vatican grounds, there’s plenty for non-Catholics to care about, observers say.

In short, the pope sets the tone.

“The pope articulates for much of the world what it means to stand in the ancient Christian consensus,” said Russell Moore, dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. “We should hope then for a pope who, like his predecessors, stands for the small ‘c’ catholic Christian concepts of human dignity, accessible universal truth claims and so on.”

More here-

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2013/03/protestants_and_the_pope_why_n.html

Fake bishop busted, booted from Vatican

From CNN-

Move over, Tareq and Michaele Salahi, the Virginia ex-couple who famously — or infamously — crashed President Obama’s first White House state dinner. There’s a new impostor posing with dignitaries, and he set his sights on an even more coveted gathering.

Meet Ralph Napierski, a German self-declared bishop who reportedly called himself “Basilius,” said he was with the nonexistent “Italian Orthodox Church” and set out to infiltrate a Monday meeting of cardinals at the Vatican.

The fake bishop played the part of cardinal, donning a purple sash (really a scarf) over his vestments and mingling with cardinals and others who’d flown in from around the globe ahead of the conclave to pick a new pope. He smiled wide and posed for cameras while shaking hands with Cardinal Sergio Sebiastiana. He tried to blend in.

But before he could get into Paul VI Hall for a top-secret meeting, the Telegraph reported, Napierski was nabbed and booted by Swiss Guards. Seems the disguise, which was a little off, gave him away. The cassock was too short, the crucifix around his neck a bit different, the purple scarf conspicuous against all the red. The fedora on his head, against all the skullcaps, probably didn’t help.

More here-

http://wtvr.com/2013/03/05/fake-bishop-busted-booted-from-vatican/

At Vatican, rumors, theories swirl around St. Peter's Square

From The Post-Gazette-

In the absence of actual news, the 5,000 journalists gathered in Rome for the election of a successor to Pope Benedict XVI are awash in conspiracy theories. Some may have substance, but probably only by coincidence.

An example is the question of why three of the four cardinal-electors with archdioceses in Germany were among the dozen who hadn't arrived in Rome Monday for the first day of general meetings to prepare for the conclave. They had had two weeks' notice and, unlike latecomers from places such as Vietnam, face no travel challenges.

Could it be that they were trying to postpone the opening of the conclave? Did they fear that Italian cardinals who work in the Vatican would try to rush the international cardinals into voting before they could identify a worthy candidate from outside the Vatican?

German Cardinal Walter Kasper, who is 80 but voting because his birthday fell after Pope Benedict stepped down on Thursday, could be construed as hinting at this in remarks to the Stuttgarter Zeitung newspaper.

"We need time to get to know one another," he said. "A papal election is not something you should rush."

Read more:

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/at-vatican-rumors-theories-swirl-around-st-peters-square-678032/#ixzz2Ml8UTIH3