March 13, 2013

The Roman Catholic church has a new pope: Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio from Buenos Aires in Argentina, , the first ever to come from South America, who has taken the name Francis.

 

He was announced to the crowd waiting in St Peter's Square from the vast balcony that runs across the front of St Peter's basilica.

 

Earlier, white smoke had flowed from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, signalling that one of the candidates for the pontificate had obtained the necessary two-thirds majority for election. The fumata bianca– the white smoke signal that marks the successful conclusion of a papal conclave – arrived after five ballots on the second day of voting.

 

The smoke that poured out of the comignolo, the copper and steel chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, was greeted with cries of delight and applause from the crowd below. Soon afterwards, the bells of St Peter's rang out, confirming that the 266th pope had taken over the spiritual leadership of the world's 1.2 billion baptised Catholics.

 

Inside the Sistine Chapel, after the final vote was cast, the most junior of the cardinals, James Harvey, a former prefect of the papal household, called in the secretary of the college of cardinals, Monsignor Lorenzo Baldisseri, and the master of papal liturgical ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini, to witness the new pope's acceptance of one of the most daunting jobs on earth. The most senior of the electors, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, approached the pope-to-be and – in accordance with time-honoured tradition – asked him, in Latin: "Do you accept your canonical election as supreme pontiff?"

 

Having obtained his consent, he will have asked him: "By what name do you wish to be called?" The master of ceremonies, acting as a notary, will then have summoned two of his staff to act as witnesses, and prepared the document that certifies the new pope's acceptance.

 

Newly elected popes are taken to be robed in the so-called Room of Tears, its name an indication of the reluctance with which most approach the task for which they have been chosen. The last holder of the office, Benedict XVI, introduced a change into the ritual that allows for the new pope to pray before he is announced to the world.

 

Benedict abdicated on 28 February, saying that he was no longer able to cope with the burden of his office. He was the first pontiff to resign voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294.

 

The world's Catholics will be looking to his successor to provide not only spiritual inspiration but also firm leadership. The new pope was chosen against a background of turbulence and strife unprecedented in modern times. He takes on the leadership of a church whose faithful have been shocked by a proliferation of clerical sex abuse scandals throughout the rich world and dismayed by events in and around the Vatican.

 

The day for the 115 cardinal-electors began at about 6.30am local time in the Casa Santa Marta, their simple but comfortable – and highly protected – residence in the walled city state. After breakfast, they made their way to the Apostolic Palace, the home of the popes, for morning mass in the Pauline Chapel. By about 9.30am, they had settled themselves into the Sistine Chapel for prayers and the resumption of voting.

 

Benedict's startling decision to resign came after years of mounting tension and discreet but venomous infighting in the Roman Curia, the central administration of the Catholic church. Last year, some of the pope's correspondence, pointing to bitter rivalries and maladministration – or worse – in the Vatican was published in book form.

 

Benedict's butler, Paolo Gabriele, was tried and imprisoned for leaking the documents, but the journalist to whom the papers were passed has said that his source was part of a much broader network of disaffected Vatican employees and officials. Gabriele's arrest coincided with a renewed controversy over the Vatican bank, whose chairman was summarily dismissed last May.

 

The scandals – and a string of controversies over the pope's own declarations – distracted attention from what was expected to be the central theme of his papacy. Benedict came to the leadership of the Catholic church as the pope who would begin the process of re-evangelising an increasingly secular western world.

 

That too will be an important challenge for his successor. In the approach to the conclave several cardinals said they wanted a great pastor for the world's biggest Christian denomination.

 

No indication of how or why the new pope was chosen was expected to emerge. On Tuesday, before the start of the conclave, the cardinal-electors took an oath of secrecy, as had those Vatican employees and officials involved in the election.

 

Additional precautions included a sweep of the Sistine Chapel to ensure that no listening devices had been planted inside and the use of electronic jamming techniques.

 

La Iglesia Católica tiene un nuevo Papa: el cardenal Jorge Bergoglio de Buenos Aires, en Argentina, la primera que provienen de América del Sur, que ha tomado el nombre de Francisco.

 

Se le anunció a la multitud que esperaba en la plaza de San Pedro desde el balcón enorme que se extiende por la parte frontal de la basílica de San Pedro.

 

Más temprano, el humo blanco había fluido por encima de la chimenea de la Capilla Sixtina en el Vaticano, lo que indica que uno de los candidatos al pontificado había obtenido la necesaria mayoría de dos tercios para la elección. La fumata bianca-la señal de humo blanco que marca la conclusión con éxito de un cónclave papal - llegó después de cinco votos en el segundo día de la votación.

 

El humo que salían de la Comignolo, la chimenea de cobre y acero en el techo de la Capilla Sixtina, fue recibido con gritos de júbilo y aplausos de la multitud. Poco después, las campanas de San Pedro resonó, lo que confirma que el Papa 266a había hecho cargo de la dirección espiritual de 1,2 millones de católicos bautizados del mundo.

 

Dentro de la Capilla Sixtina, después de la votación final fue lanzado, el más joven de los cardenales, Harvey James, ex prefecto de la Casa Pontificia, llamado en la secretaria del colegio de cardenales, monseñor Lorenzo Baldisseri, y el maestro de liturgia papal ceremonias, monseñor Guido Marini, para presenciar la aceptación del nuevo papa de uno de los trabajos más difíciles en la tierra. El más antiguo de los electores, el cardenal Giovanni Battista Re, se acercó al Papa-a-ser y - de acuerdo con una antigua tradición - le preguntó en latín: "¿Aceptas tu elección canónica como Sumo Pontífice?"

 

Después de haber obtenido su consentimiento, se le habrá preguntado: "¿Por qué nombre quieres ser llamado?" El maestro de ceremonias, actuando como notario, y luego se han convocado dos de su personal para que actúe en calidad de testigos, y preparó el documento que certifica la aceptación del nuevo papa.

 

Papas recién elegido se toman para ser vestido en la habitación llamada de lágrimas, su nombre un indicio de la renuencia de la mayoría con la que abordar la tarea para la cual han sido elegidos. El último titular de la oficina, Benedicto XVI, introdujo un cambio en el ritual que permite el nuevo Papa para orar antes de ser anunciado al mundo.

 

Benedicto abdicó el 28 de febrero, diciendo que él ya no era capaz de hacer frente a la carga de su oficina. Él fue el primer pontífice en renunciar voluntariamente desde Celestino V en 1294.

 

Los católicos del mundo estará mirando a su sucesor para proporcionar no sólo la inspiración espiritual, sino también un firme liderazgo. El nuevo Papa fue elegido en un contexto de turbulencia y conflicto sin precedentes en los tiempos modernos. Él asume el liderazgo de una iglesia cuyos fieles se han sorprendido por la proliferación de escándalos de abuso sexual clerical en todo el mundo rico y consternados por los acontecimientos en y alrededor del Vaticano.

 

El día de los 115 cardenales electores se inició hacia las 6.30 hora local en la Casa Santa Marta, su simple pero cómodo - y altamente protegido - residencia en el estado de la ciudad amurallada. Después del desayuno, se dirigieron al Palacio Apostólico, la casa de los papas, para la misa por la mañana en la Capilla Paulina. Alrededor de las 9:30 horas, se habían asentado en la Capilla Sixtina para la oración y la reanudación de la votación.

 

Sorprendente decisión de Benedicto XVI llegó a dimitir después de años de creciente tensión y las luchas internas discreto pero venenoso en la Curia Romana, el gobierno central de la Iglesia Católica. El año pasado, algunos de correspondencia del Papa, señalando amargas rivalidades y mala administración - o peor - en el Vaticano se publicó en forma de libro.

 

Mayordomo del Papa, Paolo Gabriele, fue juzgado y encarcelado por filtrar los documentos, pero el periodista al que los periódicos se hicieron pasar ha dicho que su fuente era parte de una red mucho más amplia de descontentos empleados del Vaticano y funcionarios. Gabriele arresto coincidió con una renovada polémica sobre el banco del Vaticano, cuyo presidente fue despedido sumariamente en mayo pasado.

 

Los escándalos - y una serie de controversias sobre las propias declaraciones del Papa - distraer la atención de lo que se espera que sea el tema central de su papado. Benedicto llegó a la dirección de la Iglesia Católica como el Papa que se iniciaría el proceso de re-evangelizar un mundo cada vez más secular occidental.

 

Eso también será un importante reto para su sucesor. En el acceso a varios cardenales del cónclave dijeron que querían un gran pastor de mayor denominación cristiana en el mundo.

 

No hay indicación de cómo o por qué el nuevo Papa fue elegido se espera que surjan. El martes, antes del inicio del cónclave, los cardenales electores-un juramento de secreto, al igual que los empleados del Vaticano y funcionarios involucrados en la elección.

 

Precauciones adicionales incluyen un barrido de la Capilla Sixtina para asegurarse de que no hay ningún dispositivo de escucha, emplazada en el interior y el uso de técnicas de interferencia electrónica.

 

(CNN) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has died, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said Tuesday.

In a national broadcast, Maduro said Chavez died Tuesday at 4:25 p.m.

Flanked by Cabinet ministers, Maduro teared up as he announced the news.

"We must unite now more than ever," he said, calling on Venezuelans to remain peaceful and respectful.

In the coming hours, Maduro said, plans for Chavez's funeral would be announced.

He did not specify when elections would be held.

"Our people can count on having a government of men and women committed to protecting them," Maduro said.

The announcement came hours after Maduro met with the country's top political and military leaders about Chavez's worsening health condition and suggested someone may have deliberately infected Chavez with cancer.

 

 

Pemex workers remove items from the headquarters of the state-owned Mexican oil company in Mexico City

on Friday after an explosion the day before. (Alfredo Estrella / AFP/ Getty Images / February 1, 2013)

 

MEXICO CITY -- As rescue efforts were winding down Friday at Mexico's state oil company, where a blast the day before killed at least 33 people, workers gathered nearby, saying they were unafraid of going back to work and eager to do so as soon as they were told it's OK.

 

There would be no business at the tower complex until further notice. Yet on Friday, employees of Petroleos de Mexico, or Pemex, kept showing up. Some were eager to get inside to help with the rescue effort, while others said they  were awaiting news of co-workers and friends who remained unaccounted for.

 

Armed soldiers were guarding all the entrances and exits of the complex. Rescuers from the army, marines, Mexican Red Cross, and the searchers known as topos were still clearing away rubble.

 

An estimated 10,000 people work at the Pemex headquarters in Mexico City. The workers described it as a cosmopolitan setting, with employees, contractors and visitors from all over Mexico and the world circulating through the building each day.

 

Carlos Pineda, 45, an accountant who has worked in the main Pemex tower for 10 years, said he was on the 10th floor when the blast occurred Thursday afternoon. Pineda said workers in the buildings were prepared through previous drills to face an emergency such as an earthquake.

 

Pineda wouldn't speculate on what caused the blast in the basement of the building called B2, which he described as the human resources department, where there is "a lot of traffic."

 

"We're all asking ourselves the same thing, what happened?" Pineda said. "I really don't know what could have happened. These are administrative offices, not workshops. There are no solvents or anything like that."

 

Pineda and others said they wanted to know who was injured and who was killed. No official information has been released on the dead. He said he recognizes coworkers by faces but not necessarily by names.

 

Like others, Pineda said he's prepared to go back to work as soon as possible because Pemex is "so important to the country."

 

Marco Antonio Franco, a top search-and-rescue official at the Mexican Red Cross, said teams would keep looking as long as there was a  possibility that people were trapped under rubble.

 

"A young man just came up and said he still can't find his father, he went to the morgue, and to all the hospitals, and well that gives us the possibility that someone could still be under the structure," Franco said.

 

"Ground zero here looks a lot like an earthquake," said Franco, who was among Mexican rescue workers who traveled to Haiti for search efforts after the 2010 quake there.

 

Carlos Alberto Hernandez, a 38-year-old cleaner in the tower, stood outside an entrance to the Pemex complex waiting for his chance to get inside to help. Others milled about with worried expressions.

 

"That's why we're here, to support our coworkers, to help look for anyone who might be trapped or injured," he said. "I don't have any anxiety about going back to work, no. Anxiety maybe so I can get inside."

 

By the afternoon, the Red Cross was pulling out, and the search was being suspended.