Pope Francis dies at 88

[Solauren]

https://apnews.com/live/pope-francis-di ... wtab-en-us

Pope Francis, the Catholic Church’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor, has died, as announced by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo. He was 88.



What to know:
Cause of death has not been shared: “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father,” said Cardinal Kevin Farrell in an announcement of the death. Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.

The next pope is still to be decided: The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals. Eligible cardinals eventually vote for a papal successor in the Sistine Chapel.

Francis became pope in 2013: The Argentina-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio brought a breath of fresh air into a 2,000-year-old institution. He took over as the Catholic Church’s influence waned during the troubled papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation led to Francis’ election.

[LadyTevar]

The Vatican has stated the Cause of Death was Stroke.

[muse]

I'm told these are the leading candidates for the next Pope.
Personally, I'm hoping for Pope Pizzaballs.

[LadyTevar]

Cardinal Luis Tagle is the one the bookies have as 3:1.
He's a Reformer, like Francis.
He's only in his 50s, so he'd live much longer than the others, who are all in their 70s, with a couple already in their 80s.
He's very well liked in Asia, which is where the main draw of Catholicism is now, along with South America. Europe's Catholics are actually losing numbers.

[Solauren]

The Vatican has stated the Cause of Death was Stroke.

You mean the theory of him meeting V.P Vance and dying from cringe or vampiric touch isn't accurate?

[LadyTevar]

The Vatican has stated the Cause of Death was Stroke.

You mean the theory of him meeting V.P Vance and dying from cringe or vampiric touch isn't accurate?

The joke I heard was meeting Vance made Francis lose all hope in humanity and died of sadness. But "Stroke and Subsequential Heart Failure" is the Official Cause.

Either way, I'm looking forward to see which way the Cardinals will go -- another Reformer, who will continue Francis' ideals? Someone outside Europe, perhaps from Asia, where the Faith is growing stronger? Perhaps the Cardinal from Africa, although he's more conservative in outlook? Will they go for youth, or will they go for an 'elder' of the church?

There are so many people who would love to be flies on the wall of Sistine Chapel during the Conclave. I'm betting the wheeling and dealing is more dirty and cutthroat than any from BackRoom Congress or House of Commons.

At least it's not going to be another 1268 Conclave, where the Cardinals took over two years to make a decision. It was so bad, with Cardinals living in decidant housing, having large feasts, and only meeting "intermittantly", the Magistrates of Viterbo LOCKED the Cardinals in, reduced them to living on Bread and Water, REMOVED the ROOF of the Palazzo dei Papi di Viterbo where the Conclave was being held (due to "hostility in Roma"), and IT STILL TOOK THE CARDINALS A YEAR TO DECIDE ON Teobaldo Visconti as Pope Gregory X.
The Conclave was so long, THREE of the Cardinals DIED, and one RESIGNED from the Politics.
Pope Gregory X immediately wrote new Rules to prevent this from ever happening again.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Who are the contenders to succeed Pope Francis?

Following the death of Pope Francis, his successor will be chosen by the College of Cardinals - the most senior officials in the Church.

While in theory any Roman Catholic man can be elected pope, every pope since 1379 has been selected from within the Church's cardinals.

During a process called the conclave, the cardinals gather inside the Sistine Chapel to cast their votes in secrecy from the modern world, until one candidate has two-thirds of the votes.

A plume of white smoke from the chapel's chimney will signal when a decision has been made.

As speculation heats up on who will succeed Pope Francis, ITV News looks at some of the leading contenders.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who is among the front-runners, would become the first ever Asian pontiff if he is elected to succeed Francis.

He was appointed to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 - becoming the second youngest person and seventh Filipino to be made a cardinal.

He has held a senior position in one of the Vatican's most important departments, the Dicastery for Evangelization, since 2022.

The 67-year-old is seen by some as representing the Church's progressive wing, according to the Catholic Herald.

In 2015, he criticised the "harsh words" that were used to refer to LGBTQ+ people, unwed mothers, and divorced and separated people.

He said: "The harsh words that were used in the past to refer to gays and divorced and separated people, the unwed mothers etc., in the past they were quite severe.

"Many people who belonged to those groups were branded and that led to their isolation from the wider society. ...But we are glad to see and hear shifts in that."

He has also been involved in social issues in the Philippines, including defending the Catholic Church's opposition to abortion and placing emphasis on helping the poor.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin

Pietro Parolin currently serves at the Vatican's Secretary of State and is a member of the Council of Cardinal Advisors.

The 70-year-old was born in Italy and was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2014.

The Secretary of State is one of the oldest and most important roles in the Vatican, with responsibility for overseeing political and diplomatic events of the Vatican City State and the Holy See.

Parolin was appointed by Pope Francis to engage in talks with a variety of world leaders and groups, including with Ukraine and the Taliban.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi

Matteo Zuppi was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2019.

He became president of the Episcopal Conference of Italy in 2022, giving him oversight of the country's bishops. Alongside this, the 69-year-old has been Archbishop of Bologna since 2015.

In 2023, Pope Francis appointed Zuppi as his special envoy to find a "path to peace" for the Ukraine war, according to Vatican News.

The cardinal went to Kyiv to meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, later that year, and also met former US President Joe Biden to deliver a letter from the pope.

At the end of 2024, Zuppi visited Moscow for three days to discuss "humanitarian collaboration", the Holy See Press Office said.

Cardinal Robert Prevost

Given the geo-political power of the United States already, an American pope has been something of a taboo but Chicago-born Prevost could be the first.

The 69-year-old has extensive experience in Peru as a missionary and later as an Archbishop.

He is currently the Vatican's prefect vetting all nominations from bishops from around the world.

Francis sent him to run the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014, a position he held until 2023, when Francis brought him to Rome.

Cardinal Robert Sarah

Robert Sarah, 79, of Guinea, was long considered the best hope for an African pope, but his decision to co-auther a book with then retired Pope Benedict in 2020 may have hurt his chances .

Beloved by conservatives, Sarah would signal a return to the doctrinaire and liturgically minded papacies of John Paul II and Benedict.

Sarah, who had previously headed the Vatican’s charity office Cor Unum, clashed on several occasions with Francis, none more seriously than when he and Benedict co-authored a book advocating the “necessity” of continued celibacy for Latin Rite priests.

The book came out as Francis was weighing whether to allow married priests in the Amazon to address a priest shortage there.

Sarah is one of three African Cardinals seen as potential candidates.

The others are Ghanian cardinal Peter Turkson, 76, and Fridolin Ambongo, a 65 year old Cardinal from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Turkson who has been a leading voice on climate change and poverty, whilst also upholding traditional views within the Church, such as a stances against abortion and homosexuality.

Ambongo is best known for leading African bishops to reject a declaration from the Vatican than included guidelines on the blessings of same sex couples.

Cardinal Peter Erdő

Peter Erdő became the youngest member of the College of Cardinals when he was elected by Pope John Paul II in 2003, at the age of 51.

The Hungarian cardinal, who is now 72 years old, is the Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary.

He is known for his Marian devotion - a way of showing honour to Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus - and is seen as a conservative.

He opposes changes to marriage doctrine and has emphasised that a country's obligation to accept immigrants has limits.

Pierbattista Pizzaballa

Pizzaballa was made cardinal by the pope just two years ago and, at 59, is one of the youngest frontrunners.

When Pope Francis made him cardinal, he became the first Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem to raised to the cardinalate and the first cardinal to reside in the State of Israel.

He has devoted himself to the Middle East, facing several crises, including the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Last Christmas celebrating mass at the Holy Family Church in Gaza.

After Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October, Pizzaballa offered himself as hostage in exchange for children who were being held by Hamas.

Cardinal Marc Ouellet

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet led the Vatican's influential bishops office for over a decade, overseeing the key clearinghouse for potential candidates to head dioceses around the world.

The 80-year-old is considered more of a conservative than Francis, but has a record of selecting pastorally minded bishops to reflect Francis’ belief that bishops should “smell like the sheep” of their flock.

Ouellet defended priestly celibacy for the Latin Rite church and upheld the ban on women’s ordination, but called for women to have a greater role in church governance.

Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn

Schoenborn, aged 80, recently resigned as Archbishop of Vienna and is now too old to vote in the conclave, but is still eligible for election.

He was a student of Pope Benedict's, giving him some appeal to conservatives, but has since aligned himself with Pope Francis.

He became associated with one of Francis’ most controversial moves, by defending the late pontiff's outreach to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

He also took heat from the Vatican when he criticised its past refusal to sanction high-ranking sexual abusers, including his predecessor as archbishop of Vienna.

Schoenborn has also expressed support for civil unions and women as deacons and was instrumental in editing the 1992 update of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the handbook of the church’s teaching.

ITV pointed out that the conclave typically does not choose the favourite, the saying goes that you go in as the pope and you come out as a cardinal.

[Raw Shark]

The Vatican has stated the Cause of Death was Stroke.

You mean the theory of him meeting V.P Vance and dying from cringe or vampiric touch isn't accurate?

I mean, I wouldn't completely rule it out. I forget who said it, but JDV comes off like a guy who's trying to racially segregate a My Chemical Romance concert.

But in all seriousness, speaking as a "lapsed" (haha they're so cute, like I'm just gonna rejoin any day now) Catholic, I still have a microgram of skin in this game, and will opine that Francis was one of the good ones. May they get another one like him.

I'd pulling for Ranjith a little. Let's team up with Hanuman King of All Monkeys, him and Jesus would be a superhero team who has Buddha on speed-dial when the shit really hits the fan.

[bilateralrope]

What's in a name? Pope Leo XIV's choice signals commitment to social justice

Pope Leo XIV 's choice of name signals a commitment to social justice which is very much in line with the late Pope Francis ' global ministry.

“I think a lot us had a question mark when they elected an American, and then he selected the name Pope Leo XIV,” said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, the chair of religious studies at Manhattan University. “It really means to me he will continue the work of Leo XIII.”

Pope Leo XIII, who was head of the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903, laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought, most famously with his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed workers’ rights and capitalism at the dawn of the industrial age. He criticised both laissez-faire capitalism and state-centric socialism, giving shape to a distinctly Catholic vein of economic teaching.

The name “is a deep sign of commitment to social issues," said Imperatori-Lee. “I think this (new) pope is saying something about social justice, by choosing this name, that it is going to be a priority. He is continuing a lot of Francis’ ministry.”

Another predecessor, Pope Leo I, was known for repelling the barbarian invasion of Atilla the Hun in 452 AD and dissuading him from sacking Rome through diplomacy, Italian Cardinal Maurizio Piacenza told RAI Italian state TV. He also noted that Pope Leo XIII elevated the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii to a papal basilica in 1901.

For most of the Catholic Church’s first millennium, popes used their given names. The first exception was the 6th century Roman Mercurius, who had been named for a pagan god and chose the more appropriate name of John II.

The practice of adopting a new name became ingrained during the 11th century, a period of German popes who chose names of early church bishops out of “a desire to signify continuity,” according to Rev. Roberto Regoli, a historian at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.

For many centuries, new popes tended to choose the name of the pope who had elevated them to cardinal. John was the most popular, chosen by 23 popes, followed by Benedict and Gregory, each with 16.

It was from the mid-20th century that new popes begin to choose names signalling the aim of their papacy, Regoli said.

Lets see if he lives up to these first impressions.

[Solauren]

Apparently, he's the 'compromise' because the 2 front runners had the vote split.

Personally, I like the meme/theory I saw that he had the highest score in Doom Eternal after a 2 day competition.

[bilateralrope]

Right now, Trump likes Pope Leo XIV because he was born in the US.

“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”

I wonder how quickly that's going to fall apart after Trump learns Leo's policies. All it takes is digging through his Twitter posts. For example, he opposes the death penalty.

Pope Leo XIV has shared criticism online of Trump, Vance over policies

10:42am

Elected today as the Catholic Church's first global leader to hail from the United States, Pope Leo XIV is in a new job that will have many crossovers into politics — a realm not entirely unknown to the Chicago-born priest, whose social media history includes sharing criticism of Trump administration policies and of comments by Vice President JD Vance.

President Donald Trump has wished the new pope well in his role, calling Leo's election “such an honor for our country”. But it comes days after Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as pope amid days of official mourning for Pope Francis. That act raised eyebrows at the Vatican and was denounced by former Italian Premier Romano Prodi as indecent political interference in matters of faith.

And last month, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops announced the end of a half-century of partnerships with the federal US government to serve refugees and migrant children, saying the “heartbreaking” decision followed the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding.

The majority of Leo's posts on the X platform are related to or in support of Catholic news and church initiatives. He rarely writes original content, but a look back through his social media timeline shows numerous posts sharing viewpoints opposed to moves aimed at restricting acceptance of migrants and refugees in the US

Leo has recently criticised US Vice President JD Vance

Vance, a convert to Catholicism, is the most high-profile Catholic in American politics. He's drawn attention from the man who now leads the global church, prompting Leo to return to X after a nearly two-year absence to share criticism of the vice president's views.

In early February, Leo shared an article from a Catholic publication with the headline, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”.

It came days after Vance — in discussing critiques of the Trump administration’s immigration policies — in a Fox News interview had referenced a Christian tenet “that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritise the rest of the world”.

In response to online criticism of his position, Vance posted on X, “Just google ‘ordo amoris.’ Aside from that, the idea that there isn’t a hierarchy of obligations violates basic common sense”.

“Ordo amoris,” a historic Catholic tenet, translates to “order of love”.

Ten days after his initial post, Leo shared another piece from a Jesuit publication, titled, “Pope Francis’ letter, JD Vance’s ‘ordo amoris’ and what the Gospel asks of all of us on immigration”.

Prior to his first February post, Leo had been dormant on X since July 2023.

After Leo's election today, Vance posted congratulations on X, adding, ”I’m sure millions of American Catholics and other Christians will pray for his successful work leading the Church. May God bless him!"

His last post before becoming pope was critical of the Trump administration

The pope's final post as Cardinal Robert Prevost was a recirculation on April 14 of a post by church chronicler Rocco Palmo about Trump's Oval Office meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele.

Bukele said it was “preposterous” for his country to bring a Maryland man who was wrongly deported there in March back to the US, despite a Supreme Court ruling calling on the administration to “facilitate” Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return.

Leo reposted Palmo's link to an article by Washington-area Bishop Evelio Menjivar — who was born in El Salvador — asking, “Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?”

His sharing of critiques dates back nearly a decade

As Trump's campaign ramped up in July 2015, Leo posted to X a Washington Post op-ed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York, with the headline, “Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic”.

In the wake of Trump's first election in 2016, Leo reposted a homily in which Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez — characterising the fear among many, including schoolchildren who “think the government is going to come and deport their parents, any day now" — said that America is “better than this”.

Days later, Leo also posted an article by a Catholic outlet quoting Democrats as saying that, in her loss, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton “ignored pro-lifers at her own peril”.

In September 2017, months into Trump's first term, Leo recirculated a post by author-activist Sister Helen Prejean saying she stands “with the #Dreamers and all people who are working toward an immigration system that is fair, just, and moral”.

He also reposted church chronicler Rocco Palmo's piece with the teaser, “Saying Trump’s ‘bad hombres’ line fuels ‘racism and nativism,’ Cali bishops send preemptive blast on DACA repeal”.

[Raw Shark]

The Onion is already having a field day with this. "Conclave Selects First Chicago-Style Pope." "Pope Leo XIV: 'There couldn't be a better time to get the fuck out of America forever.'"

[muse]

Pope dies shortly after visit from JD Vance. First US pope gets elected out of nowhere a few weeks later. Nope, not suspicious at all...

According to one of my degenerate gambler friends, Cardinal Prevost was something like a +6000 underdog and he wasn't even on half the lists.