A commentator on CNN dubbed Pope Francis "the hope and change pope" earlier today:
"He hasn't actually done much in the way of real policy changes of initiatives, and he certainly is the hope and change pope, but he's at the head of a body, the Vatican, that's very resistant to change," said the CNN commentator. "I've read, for instance, that observers say that you don't change the Vatican, the Vatican changes you."
UPDATE: The man on TV has been identified as CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman:
Vice President Joe Biden, who is in Rome for the new pope's inaugural mass, says he "better show up" at party with cardinals tonight or "I'll lose my soul." Via the pool report:
The White House announced that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi will be representing America at the pope's inaugural mass. Both Biden and Pelosi are Catholics and pro-abortion.
In an interview that aired this morning, President Obama was asked whether he'd have too much influence over an American pope. He didn't answer the question, but he did say he hopes the next pope carries the "central message of the Gospel":
Cardinals will not allowed to access their Twitter accounts during conclave, according to Catholic News Service. This restriction is applicable to the 9 cardinals who have Twitter accounts. In all, there are "117 red-vested princes of the church who are eligible to vote for a new pope."
Responding to a question about the retirement of the pope, U.N. secretary general Ban Ki-moon thanked the pope for his "profound commitment ... to interfaith dialogue."
The mission of the modern university professor is not merely “forming competent and efficient professionals capable of satisfying the demand for labor,” Pope Benedict XVI said in a speech in Madrid on Friday. Instead, professors and students should be “looking for something more lofty and capable of embracing the full measure of what it is to be human.”
Jonathan V. Last reviewed George Weigel's latest biography of Pope John Paul II , The End and the Beginning, for our summer books issue. Weigel's newest volume sheds light on the last years of the beloved figure, providing touching stories as well as fascinating new information about the Pope's handling of the Cold War:
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