wow, when I went to bed last night they said the next vote was at 5am central time and when I woke up i heard the news. Didn't take them long at all to be honest. 3 votes and they elected a new pope... pretty wild.
Joseph Ratzinger of Germany was elected the 265th pontiff today by the College of Cardinals. He was announced as tens of thousands of people cheered in St. Peter's Square. Cardinal Ratzinger has chosen the name Benedict XVI, the Vatican announced. The announcement came shortly after white smoke rose from the Vatican chimney and bells rang to announce that a new pope had been selected.
I wonder if there will be some big changes for the Roman Catholic churches in the upcoming months. I'm sure there will be some time for the new Pontif to get used to being pope, but there will probably be some changes after he's settled in.
Well going from John Paul the 2nd to the most conservative Cardinal (Ratzinger) is sure to bring many changes. Looks like Stem Cell Research supports and the medical community is going to be bummed out by this one. Only the months ahead will tell though.
I am under the impression that a pope elected while he is in his 60's is considered a 'young pope'. I'm sure the cardinals consider a candidate's current health status as part of their vote.
