Conclave 2013 - Cardinals To Return To Sistine Chapel For More Voting
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Cardinals will once again shut themselves in the Sistine Chapel later today as they try to select Benedict XVI's successor as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
The cardinals failed to come to an agreement on who should lead the church during the first vote yesterday. The indecision was revealed to the world when a puff of black smoke emerged from the chimney of the historic chapel around 7:40 p.m. local time.
The 115 cardinals will vote up to four times a day until a new pope is selected. When a single candidate wins the support of at least two-thirds of the cardinals, white smoke will billow out from the copper chimney, followed by the ringing of bells.
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.
"Cardinals believe that divine inspiration helps them choose a pope, but there is also sizing up candidates, subtle persuasion and voting in blocks — all of it in secret," CBC's Susan Ormiston said late Tuesday, after the first round of voting.
Speculation about who will become the next pope continued after the first ballot failed to produce a winner.
Ormiston said Cardinal Angelo Scola, 71, of Milan and Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, 63, of Brazil have both been mentioned by many as likely candidates for the top post in the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec is also cited by many Vatican observers as a possible contender to become the next leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
"But they caution that conclaves can push up surprises, especially when there isn't a strong candidate going in —not like back in 2005 when Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict," Ormiston said about Vatican watchers who observed the pre-conclave proceedings
John Allen Jr., a Vatican journalist with the National Catholic Reporter, told CBC's Curt Petrovich that there is no clear front-runner.
"That's the towering difference between 2013 and 2005," Allen said.
The conclave is also drawing some protest — on Tuesday a group held a "pink smoke" protest to speak out about women's equality in the church and the lack of women in the Catholic priesthood.
The 115 cardinals will vote up to four times a day until a new pope is selected. When a single candidate wins the support of at least two-thirds of the cardinals, white smoke will billow out from the copper chimney, followed by the ringing of bells.
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.
"Cardinals believe that divine inspiration helps them choose a pope, but there is also sizing up candidates, subtle persuasion and voting in blocks — all of it in secret," CBC's Susan Ormiston said late Tuesday, after the first round of voting.
Speculation about who will become the next pope continued after the first ballot failed to produce a winner.
Ormiston said Cardinal Angelo Scola, 71, of Milan and Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer, 63, of Brazil have both been mentioned by many as likely candidates for the top post in the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Marc Ouellet of Quebec is also cited by many Vatican observers as a possible contender to become the next leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
"But they caution that conclaves can push up surprises, especially when there isn't a strong candidate going in —not like back in 2005 when Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict," Ormiston said about Vatican watchers who observed the pre-conclave proceedings
John Allen Jr., a Vatican journalist with the National Catholic Reporter, told CBC's Curt Petrovich that there is no clear front-runner.
"That's the towering difference between 2013 and 2005," Allen said.
The conclave is also drawing some protest — on Tuesday a group held a "pink smoke" protest to speak out about women's equality in the church and the lack of women in the Catholic priesthood.
