Posted on 04/16/2005 4:06:48 AM PDT by NYer
ROME, APRIL 15, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The 6,000 journalists, photographers and television cameramen who arrived in Rome to follow John Paul II's funeral and the start of the conclave, are all looking for the same thing: news.
The enormous interest the world has to know how the cardinals are preparing for the election of the new pope is running up against the tight control of information on the part of the Vatican.
Correspondents and special envoys walk up and down the two halls of the Vatican press office and around St. Peter's Square looking for something, anything.
The cardinals are obliged to take an oath "to maintain rigorous secrecy with regard to all matters in any way related to the election of the Roman Pontiff or those which, by their very nature, during the vacancy of the Apostolic See, call for the same secrecy," according to the apostolic constitution "Universi Dominici Gregis," No. 12. That leaves reporters very little to report on.
With the decision of the cardinals last Saturday to not give any interviews even before the start of the conclave, in order to prepare with a greater spirit of recollection and prayer, news has become even more scarce.
The only official sources are statements published by Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro Valls. He says at the end of each morning that there is a general congregation of cardinals. His reports, however, do not give details.
He states that the meeting took place, how many cardinals attended, the topic discussed, and in general who spoke, without naming names.
Dozens of journalists wait for the cardinals to exit the meetings, asking them how the meetings are going, without receiving any responses.
The more experienced correspondents, the "Vaticanists" of Italian newspapers, are the ones shaping the news for other news agencies.
Two Italian newspapers published the names of two cardinals who they see as leading contenders in the election. The publication went so far as to say that one had 40 or 50 votes.
Neither of the two newspapers quoted sources or explained how they got the opinion of the 40 or 50 cardinals alluded to, despite the oath they have taken. The news, however, has spread to all news agencies.
The sources also speak of an alleged "confrontation" between "conservatives" and "liberals."
The big news today was the installation and first tests of the chimney from which the smoke will rise announcing the result of the votes during the conclave.
Some 6,000 journalists were gathered to watch Vatican workers make smoke come out of the chimney.
Press photographers and news camera crews film workmen installing a new chimney on top of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, April 15, 2005. During the conclave voting, If the necessary majority has not been reached, the ballots and tally sheets are placed in a stove and burned with an additive to produce black smoke. If a pope has been elected, they are burned with another additive to produce white smoke. REUTERS/Kimimasa Mayama
Catholic Ping
Please freepmail me if you want on/off this list
Reporter #528 ... "I see gray smoke!"
Reporter #13 ... "I see black smoke!"
Reporter #176 ... "I can't see!"
Reporter #213 ... "I don't smoke!"
Announcer ... "There you have it folks! ... Live from the Vatican!" ... "Now back to you Chris."
Outdoor surveillance camera--$549. Smoke Alarm--$14. 'Six Thousand 'journalists' on expense accounts--Priceless.
very nice..will thee be a webcam broadcast of the Vatican chimney 24/7?
The media!
Try this.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1379123/posts
(I didn't test to see if it works cuz I'm on dialup & am on only my second cup of coffee...)
I hope none of the Cardinals have been watching the antics of the Democrats in the U.S.Senate. If so we may have a fillibuster and the conservative Cardinals may have to resort to the nuclear,I mean, the Holy Spririt option.
That would be a disgusting option for the liberals,trusting in God.
works great, thanks.
I thought the chairs are supposed to be hanging so that the Cardinals' feet do not touch the earth?
I laughed OUT LOUD when I read the title of this thread. FINALLY!!! Someone who just doesn't give a darn and isn't playing their game AT ALL!! I love it!! I hope that's not sacreligious or anything - reminds me of the nuns who steal the distributor cap in "Sound of Music."
I feel so sorry for them. </ extreme sarcasm>
Not at all! I laughed out loud when I saw that picture of the photographers with cameras focused on a chimney. Their frustration is refreshing! Sort of how we feel here when we read the usual news stories that have been skewed to suit the leftist agenda.
What's the over/under on how many votes taken till a new Pope is chosen.
Most in the MSM view the entire proceedings with scorn, so we will be treated to more commentary along the lines of: the Vatican murdered millions in Africa (AIDS/HIV and condom use), refuses to allow women to participate fully as priests, etc.. And how they'd better elect a Pope prepared to change the Church and fall in with the feminist/Liberal world view. Or else. The 'or else' they will trot out is empty churches, falling revenues, and more AIDS' dead. You have to wonder why they bother to rail against the Catholic Church and its beliefs when they think faith in the Creator is all nonsense.
And what they don't report is that exactly the opposite happens.
The article mentions a confrontation between the conservatives and the liberals and that is a very real possibility. It would not be a surprise for the conclave to take at least a week, IMO.
Next thing they (press animals) will be suing for access to the deliberations -
I hope they get so frustrated their tiny heads will spin around and around and the pea soup will be everywhere -
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