Link will follow. Coverage shows what appears to be white smoke emerging from chimney. Crowds are cheering and clapping in the Square. Others are running to the Square. However, no bells are heard ringing yet.
UPDATE: The bells are now ringing.
The Associated Press reports that more black smoke chugged from the Sistine Chapel chimney Tuesday signaling the cardinals have not yet selected a new pope.
From California Yankee.
And why does this not surprise us at all?
Saudi Sheikh Muhammad bin Abd Al-Rahman Al-‘Arifi, Imam of the mosque of King Fahd Defense Academy, discussed the coming Muslim conquest of the Vatican. Citing a Hadith in an article posted on the Kalemat website in 2002, he stated: “…We will control the land of the Vatican; we will control Rome and introduce Islam in it. Yes, the Christians, who carve crosses on the breasts of the Muslims… will yet pay us the Jiziya [JK: poll tax paid by non-Muslim second-class citizens under Muslim rule], in humiliation, or they will convert to Islam…”
Nor is he the only example. Given the level of persecution and violence Christians face in Muslim countries, it’s probably no surprise that the Wahington Post reports that the Vatican is rethinking its relations with Islam.
But the shifts that are ripening within Christianity may end up mattering even more.
The Associated Press reports that black smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney Monday evening, signaling that the cardinals failed to elect a new pope.
According to the Associated Press, the cardinals will retire for the night and return to the chapel Tuesday morning for more balloting.
From California Yankee.
Pope John Paul II , the bold, humanitarian leader of the Roman Catholic Church, has died at 84, the Vatican announced in an e-mail Saturday.“The Holy Father died this evening at 9:37 p.m. (2:37 p.m. EST) in his private apartment. All the procedures outlined in the apostolic Constitution `Universi Dominici Gregis’ that was written by John Paul II on Feb. 22, 1996, have been put in motion.”
The announcement came from papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls and was distributed to journalists via e-mail.
[to be updated]
What they are saying:
Pope hero of our time, or stuck in past?
Who Will Be Next Pope?
Pope preached back-to-basics conservatism
Pope’s last hours uplifted image of church he led
Bush to Address Nation on Pope’s Death
The pope who showed the church to the world
An Epic Tale of One Man’s Life
Shalom: Israel sends its condolences to Catholic Church
Americans Recall Meeting the Pope
Vatican rituals after the pope’s death
Statement by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, President of the Union for Reform Judaism
Vatian crowd moved to tears, applause
Via Instapundit, The Teaching Company has made two lectures on the papal succession process available for free online.
Channel Islands’ tribute to Pope
Pilgrims Walk Stations of the Cross at Basilica in Honor of Pope
Bush: ‘Catholic Church has lost its shepherd’
Poland Fell Silent after the Death of Pope John Paul II
Statement by Catholic Charities USA President Rev. Larry Snyder on the Death of Pope John Paul II
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Weblogs with coverage:
Ann Althouse
The Anchoress
Late Final
Wizbang
The Pope Blog has full coverage
Launch Exhaust
Rooftop Report
Talk Left
From Dream of Italy:
For those planning travel to Rome and/or following the events at the Vatican. These are the dates events are expected to take place. The Pope will lie in state in St. Peter’s Basilica. According to tradition, he will be buried on the 4th, 5th or 6th day following his death, which puts the burial on or between Wednesday, April 6 and Friday, April 8. The conclave begins at least 15 days and no more than 20 days after the death of the Pope. So it is expected to begin on or after April 17.
Pope John Paul II showed the first signs of losing consciousness at dawn on Saturday, the Vatican said, as priests around the world prepared the Roman Catholic faithful for his passing.But John Paul, 84, was not in a coma and opened his eyes when spoken to, papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.
Pope John Paul II has named nearly every cardinal who will elect his successor, but that does not mean the next pontiff will be just like him. Much speculation surrounds the upcoming choice of the cardinals.The world’s cardinals hold diverse and often conflicting views about what are the most pressing issues for the Roman Catholic Church and will likely seek out a leader with different qualities than John Paul’s. [read the whole thing]
From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :
Pope John Paul II’s health has worsened, drawing anguished prayers from Catholics around the world reluctant to accept that his historic pontificate was at an end.The Vatican said the 84-year-old Pontiff’s heart and kidneys were failing and that his blood pressure had dropped dangerously low.
Late on Friday, Monsignor Angelo Comastri, the Pope’s vicar general for the Vatican city, prepared pilgrims for John Paul II’s passing as he led them through the Rosary prayer.
“This evening or tonight, Christ opens the doors to the Pope,” said Monsignor Comastri as he started a prayer vigil in St Peter’s Square attended by tens of thousands of faithful, many openly weeply.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death.
From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :
Pope John Paul II is “fully conscious,” lucid and “extremely serene,” after suffering a heart attack and his condition seriously deteriorating overnight, his spokesman has said.The 84-year-old Pontiff’s overall condition was “stable,” Joaquin Navarro-Valls told a news conference, adding that John Paul II had received his closest advisers in separate meetings at his bedside on Friday morning.
Giving his second update on the pope’s health in less than seven hours, Mr Navarro-Valls said the Pope’s blood pressure continued to be “unstable”, however.
He said that the Pope was “immediately informed about the gravity of his condition” on Thursday, and that the Pontiff chose to remain at the Vatican rather than return to hospital.
Breaking on CNN:
Pope John Paul II has been given the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church as his health deteriorates.
Pope John Paul II was given the last rites of the Roman Catholic Church late Thursday night as his health deteriorated, a Vatican source has told CNN.The pope is suffering from a high fever caused by a urinary tract infection, the Vatican confirmed Thursday — one day after revealing he had been put on a nasal feeding tube for nutrition