papal transition
Vatican goes high-tech to ensure conclave secrecy
By Alessandro Speciale — March 8, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The high-tech defenses the Vatican is deploying for next week’s conclave are so impressive that it will be a miracle if even the Holy Spirit can slip in to the Sistine Chapel to do its job.
Vatican: Conclave to start on Tuesday
By David Gibson — March 8, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The conclave to pick a new pope will begin on Tuesday, an apparent compromise between cardinals who wanted to get things going and those who wanted more time to size up potential contenders.
The papal election timeline: Coffee, cocktails, then conclave
By David Gibson — March 7, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Because the closed-door conclave doesn't allow cardinals to do much talking to each other, they're taking their time getting started to allow the electors to size up the candidates.
Picking the pope: Holy Spirit or ‘groupthink’?
By David Gibson — March 7, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) While the Holy Spirit may be getting more efficient in producing shorter papal conclaves, behavioral scientists say a more pronounced “bandwagon effect” is now as powerful as any electioneering did before.
Sweet Sistine update: The Sacred Semifinals
By David Gibson — March 7, 2013
(RNS) After more than 22,000 votes were cast, the Religion News Service "Pope Madness" Sweet Sistine tournament is down to four final contenders in the Sacred Semifinals.
Cardinals move to plug leaks ahead of papal conclave
By David Gibson — March 6, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) The Vatican has pulled the plug on daily briefings from American cardinals, fueled by growing resentment among Italian cardinals and others that the process to elect the next pope was starting to look like an American-style political campaign.
Cardinals hold first meeting but don’t set date for conclave
By Alessandro Speciale — March 4, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Roman Catholic cardinals will be called on to decide the start date of the conclave to elect a new pope, but they don't seem to be in a hurry to do so.
Cardinal Mahony: ‘The Vatican told me to come to the conclave’
By David Gibson — March 4, 2013
One of the most embattled members of the College of Cardinals, retired Los Angeles archbishop Roger Mahony, says that the Vatican told him he had to come to the conclave to help elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI.
Sweet Sistine Update: Round of Elite Eight Eminences
By Daniel Burke — March 4, 2013
(RNS) As Catholic cardinals flock to Rome to pick the next pope, our Sweet Sistine bracket is heating up, with just Eight Elite Eminences left.
Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien admits to sexual misconduct
By Trevor Grundy — March 3, 2013
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) Days after pulling out of the conclave to elect the next pope and vowing to fight the charges against him, disgraced Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien admitted Sunday (March 3) to inappropriate "sexual conduct."
Popes and conclaves: everything you need to know
By David Gibson — March 3, 2013
(RNS) What are the firsts and lasts, quirks and facts of papal history that you should know about? There are plenty, and Religion News Service has compiled a handy guide.
Cardinals flock to Rome to begin choosing next pope
By Alessandro Speciale — March 1, 2013
VATICAN CITY (RNS) As former Pope Benedict XVI started his retired life in the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo on Friday (March 1), cardinals in Rome began preparations that will lead up to the closed-door conclave to elect his successor.
Has there ever been a black or African pope?
By David Gibson — March 1, 2013
(RNS) Amid all the fevered speculation about who might succeed Pope Benedict XVI, one possibility seems particularly tantalizing: that the conclave could elect an African to be the first black pontiff in the nearly 2,000 year history of the papacy. But would it be a first?
Wagering on a new pope? You bet!
By Natalie DiBlasio — March 1, 2013
(RNS) Betting on the new pope takes off internationally, including "Sweet Sistine" brackets.
Choosing a new pope? There’s a Spotify playlist for that
By Cathy Lynn Grossman — February 28, 2013
The cardinal who will choose the next pope will pray for guidance, but all believers need to pray along, says theologian Timothy O'Malley, director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy.
