White smoke appeared from the
chimney above the Sistine
Chapel, and bells from St. Peter's Basilica have pealed, meaning the
115 Roman Catholic cardinals gathered at the Vatican from all over the
world have chosen a new pope.
The church's 266th pontiff will
replace Benedict XVI, whose surprise
resignation last month prompted the cardinals to initiate a conclave, a
Latin phrase meaning "with a key," to pick a new leader for the world's
almost 2 billion Catholics.
Although it's not immediately
clear who received the necessary
two-thirds vote, several candidates were mentioned as front runners,
including what could be the first African pope or the first pope from
the U.S. or Canada.
The new church leader takes over
an organization many say is in
crisis, from damaging allegations of internal squabbling to the cover-up
and abetting of sexual abuse, though the latter issue came to light
before Benedict's papacy.
Some sources say the Catholic
Church in the U.S. has paid out as much
as $3 billion to settle sexual abuse claims, though others estimate a
billion less. At least eight U.S. Catholic dioceses declared bankruptcy
protection. Benedict said in a 1998 U.S. visit that he was ashamed of
the sex abuse scandal, and assured that the church would not allow
pedophiles to become priests.
The Pope Emeritus also faced
criticism for his role in overseeing the
church's reaction to the sexual abuse crisis, as well as revelations
from the "Vatileaks" incident. The pope's butler was implicated in the
leaking of documents that included what Italian media first
characterized as evidence of blackmail and disarray among church leaders
regarding how to address growing concerns about money laundering.
Though Benedict basically
dismissed those allegations as exaggerated,
he remarked that the leaks and results of the ensuing investigation he
commissioned had saddened him. Church outsiders have speculated that the
results of Benedict's investigation may have led to his decision to
resign from the papacy, a move unprecedented in six centuries.
The new pope will also face
pressure to modernize the church on
issues from reforming the clergy to allowing contraception. It's unclear
if the cardinals will pick a pope who will change the church or a
conservative leader who will remain dedicated to its current principals.
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