Cardinal Ratzinger elected the new pope CTV.ca News Staff Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany is the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church -- elected after just four ballots. He will be known as Pope Benedict XVI.
Ratzinger, 78, appeared shortly after the vote from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica to greet the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims below, who cheered his presence. "My dear brothers and sisters," he told the crowd. "After the great Pope John Paul II, the cardinals elected me -- a simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord." Ratzinger, who was a close confidante of John Paul, was picked on the second day of voting at the Vatican by 115 cardinals. He was considered the frontrunner going into the conclave. While the vote came quickly, it took some time to confirm the election of a new pope on Tuesday afternoon. When the smoke began to pour out of the makeshift chimney on the Sistine Chapel, it appeared to be white. But the bells did not begin tolling right away, leaving many wondering what the result of the vote was. Because of the confusion over previous ballots, journalists were hesitant to call the vote either way. Despite that, a cheer went up from the thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. Several minutes after the smoke appeared, the bells in Vatican's Sistine Chapel began to move. Vatican Affairs correspondent Gerry O'Connell, reporting from Rome, said the atmosphere was electric. He said from his vantage point he could see people running through the streets to get to the Vatican. "It is one of the great joys of the city," O'Connell told CTV News. "Children, old people, young people -- they are all trying to make their way to this square." On Tuesday morning, many thought a pope had been picked because the smoke did not at first appear black. It didn't help that the bells of St. Peter's Basilica rang at noon, around the same time the second ballots were being burned. There was also confusion on Monday after the first vote. The smoke that seeped from the chimney at first appeared white, prompting a cheer to go up. But shortly after, pilgrims watching from below moaned as it became clear that no pope had been elected. Under the rules of the conclave, the winning candidate must get a two-thirds majority: 77 votes. If the voting remains deadlocked late in a second week of voting, cardinals can go to a simple majority: 58 votes. With files from The Associated Press -- ....they did not stop to think they died instead then shall the voice of liberty be mute?" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Discover CFTicket - The leading ColdFusion Help Desk and Trouble Ticket application http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=48 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:154519 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
