Any Picks For The New Pope??

[louisa05]

What I like is that they sequester the cardinals until a pope is elected.

I would so like to see that process in Congress sometimes, over really important issues

I would say let's add in that bit of tearing off the roof and supplying them with only bread and water in some cases. We'd have to move them, though, don't want to destroy the Capitol.

 

[Dee4707]

What I like is that they sequester the cardinals until a pope is elected.

I would so like to see that process in Congress sometimes, over really important issues

Just wondering if there would be murder charges???

 

[Dee4707]

They started using chemicals in 2005 but it was still kind of dark gray/light gray rather than black or white. I'm thinking they must have changed the chemicals. I did read somewhere that there is a digital system in the stove to add it now, too. So presumably the Cardinals taking care of it only have to push a button rather than mess with "formulas".

Some info on the smoke

The white smoke, used to announce the election of a new pope, combines potassium chlorate, milk sugar (which serves as an easily ignitable fuel) and pine rosin, Vatican officials said in a statement. The black smoke, which was used Tuesday evening to signal that no one in the first round of balloting received the necessary two-thirds vote of the 115 cardinals, uses potassium perchlorate and anthracene (a component of coal tar), with sulfur as the fuel. Potassium chlorate and perchlorate are related compounds, but perchlorate is preferred in some formulations because it is more stable and safer.

The chemicals are electrically ignited in a special stove first used for the conclave of 2005, the statement said. The stove sits in the Sistine Chapel next to an older stove in which the ballots are burned; the colored smoke and the smoke from the ballots mix and travel up a long copper flue to the chapel roof, where the smoke is visible from St. Peter’s Square. A resistance wire is used to preheat the flue so it draws properly, and the flue has a fan as a backup to ensure that no smoke enters the chapel.

I think they are taking extra precaution so they had some smoke go back into the chapel at one time.

 

[Dee4707]

White Smoke....just waiting to see who it is.

 

[Olympia]

Yeah, Habemus Papam, though we don't know who it is. How exciting!

 

[Dee4707]

Yeah, Habemus Papam, though we don't know who it is. How exciting!

Olympia I am so excited right now, my heart is beating really fast.

 

[louisa05]

So we were eating lunch before my husband goes to work and had CNN on the television waiting for smoke. I said to him "I bet we have another half hour before we see it and it will be black. I just think we are not going to have a pope until tomorrow". And he answered, pointing toward our television, "smoke, it looks white!" LOL! I was totally wrong.

So exciting. In 2005, I was teaching and we found out by an announcement over the PA by our campus minister that there was white smoke and the teachers should turn on televisions if we had them so the kids could see him when he came out. (Catholic school, obviously).

 

[Dee4707]

Getting ready to make the announcement....

 

[Dee4707]

Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the new Pope...Francis the 1st.

 

[Olympia]

Jorge Mario Bergoglio is the new Pope...Francis the 1st.

Wow! Argentina. Was he one of the ones mentioned earlier? I remember one from Brazil. I was kind of intrigued by the Cardinal from the Philippines.

Okay, I've looked him up. The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he's 76 years old so has had to retire from that post. He is very conservative.

I have no right to criticize the Church, not being a Catholic, but as a believer, I always find it less than productive for a church official, in this time of poverty and injustice, to spend time worrying about contraceptives instead of what's going on just outside the door. Children are living on the streets. I don't think the Pill is quite as urgent.

I hope this Pope can express love as well as righteousness. The fact that he's named himself after Francis of Assisi gives me hope of that.

 

[Dee4707]

I think he already impressed me when he asked us to pray for him and humbly bends over. I am surprised because I don't know that his name has come up as a front runner but he seems humble and is for the people.

 

[Mrs. P]

Really excited to hear about our first Latin American pope. This is not really surprising given the rapid growth of Catholicism (and Christianity in general) in S. America. When I was a religious studies major a decade ago, I actually read a wonderful book by Penn State University history professor Phillip Jenkins about how Christianity was and would keep exploding in South America, Asia and Africa. The book has been updated and revised since: http://www.amazon.com/The-Next-Christendom-Christianity-Trilogy/dp/0199767467/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Here's an interesting fact he points out: "In 1900 Europe was home to two-thirds of the Christian population; today, the figure is about 25 percent and by 2025 will fall below 20 percent." Also. "By 2050 only about one-fifth of the world's 3.2 billion Christians will be non-Hispanic whites."

As you can see, it was absolutely necessary to pick a pope outside Europe. It's so interesting to see this phenomenon playing out now.

 

[Dee4707]

We have seen so many different happenings in history in such a short period of time....first black president, first Latin American pope, what's next....first women president????

 

[louisa05]

Wow! Argentina. Was he one of the ones mentioned earlier? I remember one from Brazil. I was kind of intrigued by the Cardinal from the Philippines.

Okay, I've looked him up. The former Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he's 76 years old so has had to retire from that post. He is very conservative.

I have no right to criticize the Church, not being a Catholic, but as a believer, I always find it less than productive for a church official, in this time of poverty and injustice, to spend time worrying about contraceptives instead of what's going on just outside the door. Children are living on the streets. I don't think the Pill is quite as urgent.

I hope this Pope can express love as well as righteousness. The fact that he's named himself after Francis of Assisi gives me hope of that.

He lived in an apartment in the city among the poor, used public transportation (no drivers) and cooked his own meals. He has been known for deep concern for social justice issues affecting the poor. The Church is not going to abruptly change its views on contraception, but I think that a Jesuit, Latin American pope with a long record of concern for the poor who took the name Francis may signal that we will see more emphasis on social justice. It is my great hope.

 

[heyang]

I think he already impressed me when he asked us to pray for him and humbly bends over. I am surprised because I don't know that his name has come up as a front runner but he seems humble and is for the people.

The news report I was watching mentioned that he was one of the choices during the prior conclave that selected Benedict. Of course, this is speculation since no one knows what happened except the Cardinals that were present. Wasn't clear if the votes were splitting between him and Benedict or if he turned it down.

 

[heyang]

Forgot to mention that my impression of him seems favorable as compared to initial impression of Benedict. On the surface, he definitely appears to be a good choice.

 

[louisa05]

Forgot to mention that my impression of him seems favorable as compared to initial impression of Benedict. On the surface, he definitely appears to be a good choice.

I felt that way, too. Something about his entire demeanor which was calm and serene and not at all as if he expected or wanted this job. Benedict kind of seemed (to me and the people I watched his first appearance with anyway) like someone who finally had a job he'd waited his whole life to get. Very satisfied somehow. This was very different to me. The image of him standing silently and looking down on the crowd was somehow very humble.

 

[Olympia]

He lived in an apartment in the city among the poor, used public transportation (no drivers) and cooked his own meals. He has been known for deep concern for social justice issues affecting the poor. The Church is not going to abruptly change its views on contraception, but I think that a Jesuit, Latin American pope with a long record of concern for the poor who took the name Francis may signal that we will see more emphasis on social justice. It is my great hope.

Louisa, that's tremendously good and heartening to hear. The fact that he's a Jesuit is also encouraging to me. Thanks for the new details. I will hope and pray that his communications skills are as good as those of John Paul II. There's a lot of work to be done.

 

[louisa05]

Louisa, that's tremendously good and heartening to hear. The fact that he's a Jesuit is also encouraging to me. Thanks for the new details. I will hope and pray that his communications skills are as good as those of John Paul II. There's a lot of work to be done.

He did not adhere to the proscribed script for his introduction. The only previous pope to do the same was JPII. I found Benedict rather distant. I never saw that people in the church felt a connection to him. JPII on the other hand was truly a "papa". My Catholic high school students truly mourned him on his death as they felt some spiritual sort of connection. Not so much with Benedict. I don't think he had the charismatic personality that made people feel drawn to him. Notably, he was not a pastor and had not been for decades. Pope Francis has been a pastor among the people and apparently took care to remain so even as a bishop and cardinal.

 

[Olympia]

I'm not a Catholic, and I mourned John Paul II. He had an immense gift for connecting with people, and for connecting people with one another. I will never forget his meeting with his attempted assassin. Good heavens, all he had to do was issue some distant statement about forgiving the man, but instead he went and sat with him. A friend of mine from Bulgaria, who's Eastern Orthodox, just reveres him. It wasn't just that he stood against Communism. That's ideological. It was that he stood for individual worth and freedom. Like you I felt that Benedict was rather distant, and it was not just that he lacked John Paul's charisma. You can be loving though awkward about it, and people will understand. There are ways of reaching people even without film-star magnetism (which JP2 definitely had and used wisely). Benedict seemed uncomfortable with ordinary folks, and I think your observation that he had not been a pastor for a long time might explain it. The thing about JP2 was that he genuinely seemed to enjoy being a human being along with the rest of us human beings. I hope this new Francis I will convey that as well.