Latest news with #PiusX
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Papal conclave: Here's why you won't know the results of the election, other than who wins
PHOENIX - The death of Pope Francis on April 21 also means that a new pontiff for the Roman Catholic faith will be chosen. According to the Associated Press, the vote for the next pope will take place in secret. Here's why the conclave operates under secrecy. Per the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the papal conclave is an assembly of cardinals to elect a new pope. What Does It Mean? According to Merriam-Webster, the word "conclave" is derived from Latin, with a definition of "room that can be locked up." "Today, conclave refers not to the locked rooms but to the private meetings and secret assemblies that occur within them," read a portion of the dictionary's website. The first known use of the word dates back to 1524, per Merriam-Webster. The backstory The Encyclopaedia Britannica states elections for the Bishop of Rome, whose officeholder is the pope himself, were held early on in the Catholic Church's history, with papal elections initially mirroring the election process for bishops in nearby towns at the time. The current procedures for papal conclaves, per the encyclopedia, began with reforms made in 1059, and the entire procedure was codified in 1904 by way of a constitution that Pope Pius X issued. Changes to the rules were made during the tenure of Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI. The selection of a new pope involves a considerable degree of secrecy: according to the encyclopedia, the area of the papal conclave is sealed for the duration of the conclave, and cardinals are denied access to news media, banned from using phones or computers, and required to swear an oath of secrecy when they enter the place where voting takes place. Such is the secretive nature of conclaves in the modern era that, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, more is known about what happened in conclaves held during the 16th century than those held in recent years. The Catholic News Agency reported in 2013, the year when Pope Francis was selected to lead the Roman Catholic faith, that conclaves are events of "the strictest secrecy". Dig deeper The article states that the secrecy aims to preserve the proceeding's impartiality. Indeed, the AP reported that anyone who reveals what went on inside the conclave faces automatic excommunication. According to a report by United Kingdom newspaper The Independent on April 22, 2025, the secret ballot was introduced as a way to avoid overt politicking. However, the article notes that the conclave is "inevitably a hotbed of competing factions who wish to see their man come out on top." There are other reasons to sequester the voting cardinals, according to a report by NPR News on April 23, 2025, such as preventing political leaders from swaying the election, and other religious-based reasons. In the article, a history professor who specializes in Catholic Church history said the religious idea behind the conclave is that "God through the Holy Spirit descends on the cardinals and inspires their choice," and the cardinals have to be "separated away from everybody else while they're making this decision." Big picture view The ballot results are secret, in that according to the AP, the ballots cast in each round of voting are burned. Smoke from the burn will tell the world whether a pope has been chosen (white smoke) or not (black smoke). Despite the secrecy, however, the public does know a certain part of the result: who becomes pope. There is a certain level of ceremony surrounding the start of a new papacy, which includes a Roman Catholic clergy member announcing the new pope's identity, and his regnal title. In addition, recent popes have also been major worldwide figures. In recent decades, there have been at least two widely-publicized incidents where details of the conclave were leaked. The leaks all involve the 2005 conclave, but did not happen during the course of that year's conclave. What we know In 2024, the AP reported that Pope Francis, in a book written by a Spanish journalist, revealed details surrounding the 2005 conclave that made his predecessor, Benedict XVI, pope. Pope Francis said during that year's conclave, he was "used" by cardinals who wanted to block the election of Benedict, who was then known as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and that 40 of the 115 votes were swayed his way. The idea, according to Pope Francis, was not to elect him. Rather, it was to force a compromise candidate after the man who would go on to become Pope Benedict XVI was knocked out of contention. Eventually, Francis said he declared he wouldn't accept the papacy, after which Ratzinger was elected. Details of the 2005 conclave were also leaked months after that conclave happened, when a report stated that Pope Francis, then known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, was in second place for that year's conclave. The same report also states that Bernard Law, who was once Archbishop of Boston, received one vote in the final ballot despite having resigned from his post in Boston close to three years prior. According to the BBC, Law stepped down after journalists reported he had moved priests accused of sexual misconduct between parishes, rather than addressing claims made by victims. Law died in 2017.
Time of India
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pope Francis Death: The curious connection between World Wars and papal deaths
Pope Francis appears on the central lodge of St. Peter's Basilica to bestow the Urbi et Orbi (Latin for to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of the Easter mass presided over by Cardinal Angelo Comastri in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sunday, April 20, 2025.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia) The death of Pope Francis last week has triggered solemn mourning in cathedrals—and speculative murmurs in corners of the internet where history, anxiety, and memes collide. A pattern, they say, is emerging: Pope Pius X died in 1914, just as World War I began. Pope Pius XI died in 1939, on the eve of World War II. Now, as the world simmers with conflicts from Ukraine to Gaza, and with tensions rising in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, Pope Francis has passed. The timing, to some, feels... ominous. But here's the thing: timing is not causality. The idea that papal deaths somehow signal or foreshadow world wars is compelling as a narrative—especially in a social media age where historical trivia morphs easily into eschatological prophecy. But it falls into a classic logical trap: post hoc ergo propter hoc—after this, therefore because of this. It's the same fallacy that leads people to think carrying a rabbit's foot prevents bad luck, or that a stock market crash is inevitable every time a comet appears. In truth, correlation does not imply causation. Popes do not cause wars, nor do their deaths catalyse international conflict. History is messy, multicausal, and rarely as narratively tidy as a meme might suggest. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Secure Your Child's Future with Strong English Fluency Planet Spark Learn More Undo The Pius X – World War I Theory On social media platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter), a particularly viral claim draws a dotted line between the death of Pope Pius X and the start of World War I. Pius X died on 20 August 1914, barely three weeks after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. Online historians note that he had been gravely ill but reportedly heartbroken by the news of war engulfing Europe—a narrative that adds a touch of spiritual gravitas to a bloody, imperialist brawl. But the implication that his death somehow unlocked the gates of global war is a leap of logic, not fact. The war was already underway; the Pope died with it—not before it. The Pius XI – World War II Theory Similarly, Pope Pius XI's death in February 1939—mere months before Hitler invaded Poland—is often held up as another prophetic papal exit. His successor, Pius XII, would become the wartime Pope, navigating the Vatican through neutrality, moral ambiguity, and post-war reckoning. But again, this connection is exaggerated. The world was already on the brink. Hitler had annexed Austria, occupied the Sudetenland, and torn up treaties like confetti at a fascist wedding. The Pope's death didn't cause the war; it merely coincided with a crescendo of fascist momentum that had been building for years. Why the Pattern Feels Real Still, we're not entirely irrational to search for patterns. Humans are pattern-seeking creatures, especially in moments of uncertainty. The deaths of Pius X and Pius XI did coincide with inflection points in world history—not because the papacy drives global violence, but because the papacy, like everything else, exists within history's tides. And now, in 2025, the world is once again on edge. But this is not because Pope Francis died. Rather, his death occurred amid an already unstable international order—one defined by decentralised conflict, climate-driven migration, economic disruption, and an ongoing epistemic crisis where truth is contested and institutions are under siege. The Danger of Drawing Lines Too Neatly The allure of connecting papal deaths with world crises also reflects a deeper psychological need: the desire for meaning. In a world that feels chaotic, the illusion of pattern offers comfort. If history follows cycles, perhaps we can predict—and avoid—disaster. But this thinking can lead us astray. Assigning too much significance to such correlations distracts us from real drivers of conflict: ethno-nationalism, unchecked militarism, authoritarian revival, resource scarcity, and digital disinformation. These are the forces shaping the world today—not Vatican funerals or papal conclaves. A Reminder of Continuity, Not Crisis What the death of a Pope does signify is a moment of reflection for a major global institution—one that still carries moral and symbolic weight for over a billion people. The transition of papal power often marks the end of an era, a shift in tone, sometimes in theology or diplomacy. But it is not a doomsday clock. It is a bell tolling in a world already noisy with real alarms. So, as the College of Cardinals convenes in Rome to elect the next spiritual leader of the Catholic Church, it is not history's hidden codes we should decipher, but the open wounds of our time. The threats we face—geopolitical, environmental, ideological—are not prophetic mysteries. They are human-made. And they require human solutions. Still, if you see someone quietly lighting candles and looking nervously at a world map after a papal death, don't scoff. Just gently remind them: history doesn't repeat—it only rhymes. And not all rhymes are omens. Some are just echoes.
Daily Tribune
14-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Tribune
Recovering pope delights crowd in Vatican square
AFP | Vatican City, Holy See Pope Francis on Palm Sunday delighted worshippers with an impromptu tour of St Peter's Square, against the advice of his doctors to avoid crowds while recovering from pneumonia. For the second Sunday in a row after the longest hospital stay of his papacy, the 88-yearold pontiff left his Vatican quarters, handing out sweets to children and shaking hands while doing the rounds of the Vatican landmark. While sat in his wheelchair, the Argentine appeared in rather good form, without the nasal cannula -- a plastic tube tucked into the nostrils -- used to help him breathe during his convalescence. Since his release from hospital, the pope has ventured out on several occasions despite his doctors urging him to rest, with his surprise visits appearing on no official Vatican programme. On Thursday, he made an unscheduled visit to Saint Peter's Basilica to inspect renovation work and to visit the tomb of Pius X, before making a trip on Saturday to pray at his favourite basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. And after his planned meeting with King Charles III was initially cancelled due to his ill health, Francis welcomed the British monarch and Charles's second wife Queen Camilla in private on Wednesday.
Express Tribune
14-04-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Recovering pope delights crowd in Vatican
Pope Francis on Palm Sunday delighted worshippers with an impromptu tour of St Peter's Square, against the advice of his doctors to avoid crowds while recovering from pneumonia. For the second Sunday in a row after the longest hospital stay of his papacy, the 88-year-old pontiff left his Vatican quarters, handing out sweets to children and shaking hands while doing the rounds of the Vatican landmark. While sat in his wheelchair, the Argentine appeared in rather good form, without the nasal cannula -- a plastic tube tucked into the nostrils -- used to help him breathe during his convalescence. Since his release from hospital, the pope has ventured out on several occasions despite his doctors urging him to rest, with his surprise visits appearing on no official Vatican programme. On Thursday, he made an unscheduled visit to Saint Peter's Basilica to inspect renovation work and to visit the tomb of Pius X, before making a trip on Saturday to pray at his favourite basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
Observer
13-04-2025
- Health
- Observer
Recovering pope delights crowd in Vatican square
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis on Palm Sunday delighted worshippers with an impromptu tour of St Peter's Square, against the advice of his doctors to avoid crowds while recovering from pneumonia. For the second Sunday in a row after the longest hospital stay of his papacy, the 88-year-old pontiff left his Vatican quarters, handing out sweets to children and shaking hands while doing the rounds of the Vatican landmark. While sat in his wheelchair, the Argentine appeared in rather good form, without the nasal cannula used to help him breathe during his convalescence. Since his release from hospital, the pope has ventured out on several occasions despite his doctors urging him to rest, with his surprise visits appearing on no official Vatican programme. On Thursday, he made an unscheduled visit to Saint Peter's Basilica to inspect renovation work and to visit the tomb of Pius X, before making a trip to pray at his favourite basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. In his Sunday Angelus prayer, the pontiff thanked the flock for their prayers and issued his customary call for peace in the world. — AFP
