Pope Benedict XVI resigns - First to resign voluntarily since 1415.

[analog]

Ah yes. I love it how almost everyone on the internet sees the church and the pope as a joke.

Why would that be?

Oh yeah, the scandals.

(just to make clear, I wasn't trying to make fun of JP2's illness, but the church's decision to expose him in that way without any dignity left nor the ability to function as a pope)

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Voting starts tomorrow. Quite a few cardinals have been mentioned as possible favourites, but there is reportedly no clear front-runner.

 

[photonrider]

Any predictions?

I keep hearing about . . .
Damn. Forgotten his name now.

 

[Joey D]

I'm just hoping it isn't another European and I hope they're under the age of 70.

 

[Joel]

Damn. Forgot to send in my resume.

 

[nealcropper]

Damn. Forgot to send in my resume.

Are you a peodophile?

If not, don't bother.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Any predictions?

It depends on what the cardinals think the church needs the most in a new pope. They cannot afford to ignore the sexual abuse scandals of the past few years, and all the moreso after Benedict XVI has been criticised for the way he handled some of the allegations during his time as Archbishop of Munich. In that respect, Sean O'Malley might be one of the favourites because of the way he handled the issue in Boston.

At the same time, the cardinals will want a pope who can handle the curia, or the government of the church. When Benedict announced his resignation, it was speculated that the curia had a hand in pulling him down because they didn't like the way he was doing things. Any attempt to address sexual abuse claims will likely meet resistance from the curia because of the potential to damage the church as an institution. Reforming the curia is said to be one of the key challenges the next pope faces, so the cardinals will want someone savvy enough to play at politics.

And the final point I was going to address is here:

I'm just hoping it isn't another European and I hope they're under the age of 70.

I think there have been more non-European cardinals named this time around than ever before. One of the main reasons for this is because most of the faithful live in Central and Southern America, and in Asia. Having a European pope may be seen as not properly representing them.

As for the age, though, they'll almost certainly take an older cardinal. Luis Antonio Tagle has been named as a charismatic cardinal would could easily be a popular leader, but he's only fifty-five and so is considered an outside chance.

 

[photonrider]

Thanks, PM.

And in other news . . . or is it the same thing . . . they're making book on Men of the Book.

Even before the pope officially stepped down, Paddy Power, the largest bookmaker based in Ireland, had given Cardinal Turkson an 11-4 odds that he would succeed the Pope Emeritus. He was followed by Italian Cardinals Angelo Scola (3-1), Tarcisio Bertone (6-1) and Angelo Bagnasco (6-1), Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet (6-1) and Argentinean Cardinal Leonardo Sandri (12-1).

As of Saturday, Cardinal Scola had overtaken Cardinal Turkson in Paddy Power with odds of 5-2, while the latter was on second spot at 7-2. On third place is another Italian cardinal, Tarcisio Bertone with 5-1 chances.

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/4443...talian-cardinal-angelo-scola.htm#.UT2D4Ryuz6p

 

[DK]

I noticed Paddy Power had Richard Dawkins @ 666/1.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

they're making book on Men of the Book.

Of course they are. These days, you can bet on anything.

I'm just hoping it isn't another European and I hope they're under the age of 70.

Actually, as it turns out, there is an additional stipulation on age: cardinals have to be under the age of eighty to be elegible for the papacy. This poor guy turned eighty two days before Benedict XVI's resignation took effect, and thus he cannot be selected as pope (mind you, I'd never heard of him until I looked it up; he was never mentioned as a potential nominee).

 

[Dean]

I have a strange feeling, that Peter Turkson'll be the next pope. But since the majority of the cardinals are European, there is a great chance that they'll choose a European, - but who knows?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

But since the majority of the cardinals are European, there is a great chance that they'll choose a European

And since the majority of the faithful are in South America and Africa, there is a great chance that they will choose a non-European, since that would be seen as better-representing the people.

I find it intetesting that after 455 years of Italian popes, the Vatican elected two consecutive popes from outside Italy; John Paul II, from Poland, and Benedict XVI, from Germany. Searching through Wikipedia, I cannot find and instances of consecutive popes from outside Italy (though it is difficult, since there was no formal process for electing a pope prior to 1061). Before John Paul II, the last non-Italian pope was Adrian VI - from what is now the Netherlands - and he was both preceded and succeeded by Italians. I don't think that's necessarily a guarantee that the Vatican will elect a cardinal from outside Italy to become pope, but it does show a more progressive attitude within the church.

But what they really need is someone who can deal with the sex abuse scandals.

 

[Dean]

But what they really need is someone who can deal with the sex abuse scandals.

This, I can only agree with.

 

[Villain]

I noticed Paddy Power had Richard Dawkins @ 666/1.

That is AWESOME!

 

[prisonermonkeys]

A who's who of the top thirteen contenders:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-12/next-pope-top-10-contenders/4567312

 

[DK]

I put €10 on Cardinal O'Malley @ 15/1, just as an outside bet.

 

[PeterJB]

I hope Cardinal Turkson gets it.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

No pope yet:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-13/black-smoke-as-cardinals-cast-first-ballot/4569092

Not surprising, really - there is no clear favourite for the papacy, and the first ballot is really designed to start the ball rolling.

 

[Pupik]

Kamui Kobayashi is the next pope. Because if there is a god, it's the only plausible explanation why he isn't in F1 this year.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Second vote, still no pope:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-03-13/still-no-pope-after-latest-round-of-voting/4571480

With the cardinals sealed off from the outside world, there's not a whole lot to report.

 

[BobK]

I heard that Dennis Rodman is heading over to the Vatican to "observe". Does this mean that the Vatican will be declaring war on us?

 

[Hun200kmh]

Not sure if this works in other countries, but ...

http://www.publico.pt/multimedia/video/em-directo-imagens-do-vaticano-20130312-103628

 

[PeterJB]

White smoke, we have a pope!

 

[Hun200kmh]

Habemus Papam! 👍

 

[sumbrownkid]

Imagine if they voted in a Muslim guy as Pope.

 

[Rossell2]

Not religious but hey, gotta respect your rights to a belief. And hey, something to tell your kids

 

[Blitz24]

Retracted. Nothing announced.

 

[Pupik]

Apparently there's a new pontiff in town: Pope Francis.