World leaders rubbed shoulders to bid good-bye to Pope Francis “at a fraught time for international diplomacy.” St. Peter’s Square was packed and filled; ordinary people joined heads of state, Donald Trump and President Marcos Jr. among them. Trump’s suit was dark blue and not black, as protocol required.
During “Sign of Peace” where members of congregation shake hands with neighbors and say “Peace be with you,” Trump shook hands with several world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron. Not true that Trump said “Tariff be on you!” to a number of heads of state.
After the period of nine-day mourning (“novendiali”), the conclave to elect the new pope will be held, not later than 20 days after Francis’s death. Two-thirds majority of cardinals under age 80 is required.
Francis got what he wished: simplified ceremonies. a simple wooden, zinc coffin, placed on a converted Popemobile, which was brought to the streets of Rome, with people lining the route to the Basilica de Santa Maria Maggiore, where he had requested to be buried in a simple tomb bearing only his name Francisco.
… And bets and predictions on the new pope. Yes, Filipino Cardinal-bishop Tagle is among the top contenders; he’s No. 2 in AI’s forecast. Favorite of bettors and predictors: Pietro Parolin. Chatbots are unanimous: ‘near impossibility of forecasting the outcome.’
The Philippines’ Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle in the list of CBS News, NBC News, The Independent, BBC, and which other list there is. Four chatbots asked by Agence France-Press include Open AI’s ChatGPT, which says Cardinal is the “most likely” pick. One similarity in the responses of the chatbots: the near impossibility of predicting the result.
Would the new pope happen to be a Filipino, by the name of Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle? No. Or not yet. A YouTube channel called “History Documentary Hub” went so far as to post claims multiple times since Pope Francis died March 21.
The fact that a new pope can be elected only in a conclave, which shall be held not earlier than 15 days after the seat is vacated, must tell the news consumer the report was bogus.
While there are 252 cardinals and all can join the debate about who should be the next pope, only 135 cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote at the conclave. Three of the elector-cardinals are Filipinos. The three Filipinos who can vote are Tagle, 67, a cardinal-bishop (the first Filipino to hold the highest rank of a cardinal in the Catholic Church) who’s been based in the Vatican since 2019; Manila Archbishop Jose Fuerte Advincula, 73; and Kalookan Bishop and CBCP president Pablo Virgilio (“Ambo”) Siongco David, 65.
Two other Filipinos -- Cardinals Orlando Beltran Quevedo of Laoag, Ilocos Norte, 86, and Gaudencio Borbon Rosales, 92 -- can no longer vote.