Thursday, March 14, 2013

Oops..bishops salute the wrong pope

http://static.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breakingnews/offbeat/article29130765.ece/ALTERNATES/h342/PANews+BT_N0394101363265097219A_I1Italian bishops were quick to congratulate the new pope.

Too quick - they got the wrong man.
The Italian Bishops' Conference on Wednesday sent a congratulatory email to one of their own, Milan Cardinal Scola - tipped as a hot conclave favourite.

They had to quickly correct themselves and issue a new message to the real winner, Argentine Jorge Bergoglio.

Conventional wisdom had it that a quick result - and this conclave was quick, with the white smoke coming on just the second day - could only mean consensus had built around a top name.

Churches in Milan also seem to have got it wrong: they sent bells pealing shortly before the announcement "Habemus Papam!" - "We have a pope!"