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Deccan Herald » Foreign » Detailed Story
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Voting resumes after first black smoke
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Vatican City, reuters:
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Initially, the smoke appeared white — a sign that a new pope had been chosen. But soon the smoke turned black.
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Cardinals sequestered in a secret conclave in the majestic Sistine Chapel began a second day of voting for a new pope on Tuesday after an initial ballot failed to find a successor to John Paul.
The 115 red-hatted princes of the Roman Catholic Church who are locked in the conclave, meeting under Michelangelo's famed frescoes and sworn to secrecy, cast a first vote on Monday. Tens of thousands of excited faithful in St Peter's Square watched as black smoke spewed from the Sistine Chapel's chimney, signalling an inconclusive vote.
The first wisps of smoke appeared white — the age-old signal that a new pope has been chosen — prompting loud cheers. But the crowd soon went quiet as the smoke turned black.
Pilgrims eager to see history in the making began gathering in the square early on Tuesday. ''I wasn't born last time around (in 1978) and I wanted to be here this time,'' said Frenchman Clement Waquet, who hitch-hiked from Paris. ''Yesterday it seemed white at the beginning and I thought, 'Fantastic, they've chosen!'''
The cardinals will now vote up to four times a day — twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon.
Voting in the past
In the 20th century, there were eight conclaves. They lasted from two days to five days, with the average just over three days. The conclave to elect John Paul II lasted three days and eight ballots.
Latin chants and organ music accompanied the red-robed cardinals as they processed slowly into the conclave laid their hands on the Gospels and swore themselves to secrecy and fidelity to the Church.
Before the conclave door shut, the dean of cardinals Joseph Ratzinger urged his fellow electors from around the globe not to listen to the world and its ''dictatorship of relativism''.
He told them the papacy should remain faithful to the teachings of Jesus, who stares down at the cardinals from Michelangelo's ''Last Judgment'' fresco behind the chapel's altar. Rev Ratzinger has been the Vatican's doctrinal defender for 23 years.
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Wednesday, April 20, 2005
