Habemus Papam - new pope elected on second day of the conclave
52 comments
·May 8, 2025nickthegreek
"Whereas Francis said, “Who am I to judge?” when asked about gay clerics, Cardinal Prevost has expressed less welcoming views to L.G.B.T.Q. people.
In a 2012 address to bishops, he lamented that Western news media and popular culture fostered “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel.” He cited the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”"
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/world/americas/pope-candi...
armchairhacker
The quote is very similar to https://collegeofcardinalsreport.com/cardinals/robert-franci... (“Summary” footnote 1), but missing the second part:
> However, regarding the Vatican’s 2023 document Fiducia Supplicans, which permits non-liturgical blessings for couples in irregular situations (including same-sex couples), Prevost emphasized the need for national bishops’ conferences to have doctrinal authority to interpret and apply such directives in their local contexts, given cultural differences.
So it’s ambiguous.
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freetime2
The pope is not a subject that typically interests me, but I must admit that I find announcing a decision with changing smoke color rather delightful. I wonder how long ago that started.
ch4s3
The white smoke means there's a pope thing started in 1914[1], but they've been burning the ballots for a very long time.
[1]https://www.history.com/articles/pope-conclave-smoke-color
lbhdc
There was an interesting video by the Religion for Breakfast channel that talked about the process and where some of the rules came from.
blensor
I wonder if there is any other event in recent history that is communicated as quickly to as many people as the fact that a new pope has been elected.
I was out on the streets when the church bells started ringing here in Vienna as must have all around the globe where there are catholic churches
qsort
Probably not as spiritually fulfilling, but the stock market would be an example of that happening at sub-second latencies, every day, all day.
Clamchop
I don't think that counts as communicating to people at all, let alone to as many people.
PaulHoule
What about the tickers you see on TV or at Times Square? That’s not communicating?
TZubiri
With some exceptions like crisis, not everyone is listening to that.
And it happens every day, all day. It's not discrete information.
martinclayton
What happens if Charlie Stross meets the Pope?
Boogie_Man
The prevailing wisdom has been proven wrong on this occasion. He is very much a continuation of Francis's school of thought in spite of the "fat Pope thin Pope" wisdom, and he is an American who has been elected Pope, which was almost unthinkable because of America's economic, political, and mass media domination of the western world. Very unexpected
chirau
I am sure a certain somebody is going to claim credit for bringing the papacy home to America to make it great.
belter
The tariffs will stay!
https://religionnews.com/2025/04/07/president-trump-imposes-...
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antognini
The field of candidates in this conclave was relatively open compared to the past few conclaves, so it is a little surprising that the cardinals were able to come to a consensus by the fourth ballot. That suggests that one of the initial front runners (likely Parolin or Tagle) was able to generate momentum early on and get the 2/3 majority pretty quickly. But we'll see in about 30 minutes if the cardinals have surprised us all with someone completely different!
zdragnar
Given the number of cardinals Pope Francis appointed, I would imagine there's a fairly strong consensus at least on the direction of the church, which in theory would eliminate a strongly divided conclave, at least.
antognini
It's not quite so obvious that all of Francis's appointees were lockstop in line with his vision. Up until the last consistory he tended to appoint cardinals from the "peripheries," places that did not historically have a strong presence in the Church. (For instance he appointed a cardinal from Mongolia and one from the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Australia.) These cardinals are a bit of wildcard.
But given that the conclave was so short that does suggest that there was not much division over direction.
Vox_Leone
The brevity of the conclave election seems to signal a continuation of Francis' policies
rpmisms
I'm rooting for Sarah, but Tagle seems pretty decent.
elorm
Not a catholic but I kept a tab on the process because the Catholic church seemed to lean towards a very conservative candidate and i was interested to see how it pans out. Turns out we have an American Pope and he wasn't even a top contender.
Symbiote
He was listed among 10 leading candidates in the Guardian, yesterday: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/07/who-next-pope-...
_bin_
American pope! So happy to hear this. Congratulations to Leo XIV!
mongol
An American pope!
koolba
I love his accent. It really feels like an American visiting Europe.
hnthrow90348765
The conclave had the opportunity to do the funniest thing
vkou
Yes, they could have elected me, but I'll expect that they'll come to their senses, and have another chance to do the right thing a decade or two from now.
Have you ever heard of the question: "Is the Pope Catholic?"
wkat4242
They should have picked Trump. He wanted to be pope anyway and he can do far less damage there :)
netsharc
"I can be President and Pope at the same time! Buy some Tesler, it's the very best cars, and I look forward to welcoming you to the First Annual Papal Golf Tournament, at Mar-A-Lago, next month!".
Heh, if Epstein was still alive he'd be jumping joyfully that his buddy Trump became pope...
deadbabe
Not sure I like this.
madduci
I wonder if this is just merely coincidence with the shared picture of Trump a couple of days ago
Posted on the other thread as I thought it was pretty interesting:
>Roughly 0.5% odds on him on polymarket before he was announced