pope

Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio Selected Pope

Mark Memmott — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:13:56 +0000

The world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics have a new spiritual leader, and for the first time is is someone from the Americas.

As afternoon turned to evening in Vatican City on Wednesday, a little after 7 p.m. local time, white smoke rose from a chimney above the Sistine Chapel and bells rang through St. Peter's Square — the traditional signals that the church's cardinals have chosen a new pope.

A little more than an hour later, his identity was announced: 76-year-old Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

No Pope Yet: Black Smoke Rises After Morning Votes On Day 2 Of Conclave

Mark Memmott — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:50:05 +0000

Update at 6:41 a.m. ET. The Smoke Is Black:

Smoke just started pouring from a special chimney above the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City — and its dark color means the 115 cardinals meeting inside the chapel have not yet agreed on a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.

If all has gone as planned inside the chapel, where the cardinals are meeting in secret, they have now cast three ballots and no one name has been written on at last two-thirds of the slips of paper.

Conclave Begins, but No Pope Today

Mark Memmott — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:49:57 +0000

Update at 2:43 p.m. ET. No Pope Today:

Black smoke just poured from the chimney above the Vatican. That means, as was expected, the cardinals did not choose a pope on the first vote of their conclave to name a successor to the now-retired Pope Benedict XVI. As the cardinals' ballots are burned, NPR's Sylvia Poggioli says, chemicals are added to a fire in a second stove to turn the smoke black if there's no pope elected and white if there is.

Now, if all goes as planned, the cardinals will vote again Wednesday. The next time to watch for smoke is 7 a.m. ET tomorrow.

Janice Sevre-Duszynska, Excommunicated Woman Bishop from Kentucky, Detained After Vatican Protest

Josh James | Kentucky Public Radio — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 22:52:44 +0000

An excommunicated woman bishop from Kentucky has been detained by Vatican officials for protesting the lack of women voices in the church as it prepares to select a new pope.

Janice Sevre-Duszynska is one 150 women priests in the world who are not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church.

Cardinals to Begin Conclave to Choose Next Pope on March 12

Mark Memmott — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:27:35 +0000

Update at 11:36 a.m. ET. Starts Tuesday:

"The eighth General Congregation of the College of Cardinals has decided that the Conclave will begin on Tuesday, 12 March 2013," reads a statement just sent to reporters by the Vatican Press Office. It adds that:

"A pro eligendo Romano Pontifice Mass will be celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica in the morning.

Bellarmine Theology Prof: Benedict XVI's Resignation May Set New Precedent

Joseph Lord — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 21:46:34 +0000

The bells toll. The noon mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption in downtown Louisville happens every Monday, and the stream of people walking into the doors showed no signs that something significant had happened within the Roman Catholic Church just hours before.

Pope Benedict XVI had announced that he was retiring on Feb. 28, citing his health and age. He's the first to resign in more than 600 years; the first to willfully do it since the 1200s.

Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz: Decision 'Reflects Pope Benedict's Stewardship,' Humility

Joseph Lord — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:37:09 +0000

Joseph E. Kurtz, the archbishop of Louisville, says he's surprised by Pope Benedict XVI's decision to resign—a step not taken by a pope in centuries.

In a statement, Kurtz says:

Pope Benedict XVI Is Resigning

Mark Memmott — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:58:49 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exSZqcQ3YZw

Vatican: Pope Benedict XVI to Resign

Associated Press — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:31:23 +0000

VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday that he would resign Feb. 28 — the first pontiff to do so in nearly 600 years. The decision sets the stage for a conclave to elect a new pope before the end of March.