And CBS has a “Vatican Smoke Cam“. Seriously.
Here’s hoping it’s one of the Africans.
Update: Jorge Bergoglio, a Jesuit from Argentina. A bit of a surprise, this.
Takes the name Francis. Hmmmm. Don’t know what to make of that, either.
Update 2: A little background on the new pope here.
Biggest surprises: a) Non-European; b) a Jesuit I don’t know when the last Jesuit pope was. Maybe never.
Update 3: Conrad Black’s take. It’s worth looking at because there is no comparably informed and erudite mass media pundit on this subject anywhere in the US. For example, you’re not likely to find any commentary in the US as bitingly relevant to the selection of a new pope as this:
As the secular leadership of most countries fumble and dissemble through economic bungling, squalid misfeasances and the infantile rites of partisan squabbling and back-biting, the papacy becomes more and not less important.
I was kind of hoping for a Frances. {Fat chance, of course.}
Yeah, has to be a man. For now, anyway.
Some people think we haven’t actually had a pope since 1958:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedevacantism
Interesting stuff, really.