First round of Vatican voting: Black smoke says no pope yet

The cardinals took their first vote today for a new pope, but black smoke billowing above the Vatican's Sistine Chapel signaled the cardinals have not yet reached a majority.

By Nicole Winfield,?Associated Press / March 12, 2013

In this video still provided by CTV, cardinals line up to "promise, pledge, and swear" secrecy before taking their seats for the conclave to elect the next pope inside the Sistine Chapel, in Vatican City, Tuesday, March 12. After the day of deliberation and voting, black smoke signaled to the waiting crowds outside that no new pope has been elected yet.

CTV/AP

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This time there was no doubt. There was no new pope yet, and the mystery of who ? and when ? was as thick as the unmistakable heavy black smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

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As thousands waited in a cold night rain in St. Peter's Square, the cardinals signaled Tuesday they had failed on their first attempt to find a leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics and their troubled church.

"It's black, it's black, it's waaay black!" screamed Eliza Nagle, a 21-year-old Notre Dame theology major on an exchange program in Rome, as the smoke poured from the 6-foot-high copper chimney at 7:41 p.m.

"They definitely got the color right this time," agreed Father Andrew Gawrych, an American priest based in Rome, referring to the confusion over the smoke during the 2005 conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI.

That was thanks to special smoke flares ? akin to those used in soccer matches or protests ? lit in the chapel ovens to make the burned ballots black, the sign that cardinals must come back for another day of voting Wednesday.

Tuesday's drama unfolded against the backdrop of the turmoil unleashed by Benedict's surprise resignation and the exposure of deep divisions among cardinals grappling with whether they need a manager to clean up the Vatican's dysfunctional bureaucracy or a pastor who can inspire Catholics at a time of waning faith and growing secularism.

Surrounded by Michelangelo's imposing frescoes portraying the beginning and the end of the world, cardinals locked themselves into the Sistine Chapel following a final appeal for unity by their dean and set about the business of electing the 266th pope.

The 115 scarlet-robed prelates chanted the Litany of Saints, the sounds of the Gregorian chant echoing through the soaring hall as, walking two-by-two, they implored the saints to guide their voting. They then took an oath of secrecy, first collectively and then individually, as each placed his right hand on the gospel and intoned the words in Latin accented by their native languages ? English, German, French, Italian, Arabic and so on.

Then the master of liturgical ceremonies intoned the words "Extra omnes" ? "everyone out" ? and dozens of prelates and Vatican officials departed as the chapel's heavy, ornately carved wooden doors swung shut.

The cardinals then proceeded with the carefully choreographed vote, each writing his choice on a piece of paper, then folding it and tipping it into an urn, to be counted by hand by three "scrutineers" who read out the results, one by one.

With no cardinal winning the required 77 votes on the first ballot, the cardinals returned to the Vatican hotel for a simple dinner of pasta with tomato sauce, soup and vegetables before another day of voting Wednesday.

Benedict's surprise resignation has thrown the church into turmoil and exposed deep divisions between Vatican-based cardinals and those in the field who have complained about Rome's inefficiencies and indifference to their needs.

The leading contenders for pope have fallen into two camps, with Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola, the archbishop of Milan, seen as favored by those hoping to shake up the powerful Vatican bureaucracy, and Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Scherer favored by Vatican-based insiders who have defended the status quo.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/1RzOpEkQuHw/First-round-of-Vatican-voting-Black-smoke-says-no-pope-yet

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