Still no Pope: Black smoke rises from Sistine Chapel on second day of papal conclave as world waits for the next pontiff

The cardinals who will choose the next Pope failed to make a decision this morning after voting for a second time on a replacement for Benedict XVI following his shock resignation. Black smoke poured out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel around 10.40am GMT to signify that the latest ballot had resulted in deadlock. The 115 senior priests failed to elect a pontiff during two hours of discussion yesterday, and sent up a plume of black smoke to signal their disagreement before retiring for the night. They will spend several hours today locked in the world-famous building, but it is unclear whether or not this will be day that they settle on a man to lead the Catholic Church into the future. Benedict's resignation has thrown the church into turmoil and exposed deep divisions among cardinals grappling with whether to pick a manager who can clean up the Vatican bureaucracy or a pastor who can inspire Catholics at a time of crisis. The red-hatted and red-caped cardinals yesterday chanted and prayed for divine guidance as they prepared for a conclave to choose a pontiff who will face one of the most difficult periods in the Church's history. They gathered in the Pauline Chapel and walked in procession along the frescoed halls of the Vatican's Apostolic Palace into the Sistine, where they could remain closeted for several days of balloting. 'The entire Church, united with us in prayer, asks for the grace of the Holy Spirit at this moment so that we elect a worthy shepherd for the entire flock of Christ,' a cardinal said in Latin as the procession began. They then chanted what is known as the 'litany of saints', asking more than 150 saints by name for help in making their choice of who should succeed Benedict XVI, who has withdrawn from public life after his surprise abdication last month. Smoke - white for a new pontiff, black after an inconclusive vote - emerges from the chimney on the Sistine's roof every time a ballot is held The balloting for the next pontiff is taking place under the gaze of the divine presence represented through Michelangelo's fresco of the Last Judgment on the wall behind the altar. The solemn afternoon procession into the Sistine followed a morning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica where Angelo Sodano, an Italian who is dean of the cardinals, called for unity in the Church, which has been riven with intrigue and scandal, and urged everyone to work with the next pope. 'My brothers, let us pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart,' Sodano said in his homily, receiving warm applause when he thanked 'the beloved and venerable' Benedict. The former pontiff, who retired on February 28, has excluded himself from public life and was not present yesterday. No clear favourite has emerged to take the helm of the Church, with some prelates calling for a strong manager to control the much criticised Vatican bureaucracy, while others want a powerful pastor to combat growing secularism. Italy's Angelo Scola and Brazil's Odilo Scherer are spoken of as possible frontrunners. The former would return the papacy to Italy after 35 years in the hands of Poland's John Paul II and the German Benedict, while Scherer would be the first non-European pope since Syrian-born Gregory III in the 8th century. On the eve of the vote, cardinals offered wildly different assessments of what they were looking for in the next pontiff and how close they were to a decision. It was evidence that Benedict XVI's surprise resignation has continued to destabilise the church leadership and that his final appeal for unity may go unheeded, at least in the early rounds of voting. The buzz in the papal stakes swirled around Cardinal Angelo Scola, an Italian seen as favoured by cardinals hoping to shake up the powerful Vatican bureaucracy, and Brazilian cardinal Odilo Scherer, a favourite of Vatican-based insiders intent on preserving the status quo. Cardinal Scola is affable and Italian, but not from the Italian-centric Vatican bureaucracy called the Curia. That gives him clout with those seeking to reform the nerve centre of the church that has been discredited by revelations of leaks and complaints from cardinals in the field that Rome is inefficient and unresponsive to their needs. Cardinal Scherer seems to be favoured by Latin Americans and the Curia. He has a solid handle on the Vatican's finances, sitting on the governing commission of the Vatican bank, as well as the Holy See's main budget committee. As a non-Italian, the archbishop of Sao Paulo would be expected to name an Italian as secretary of state - the Vatican number two who runs day-to-day affairs - another plus for Vatican-based cardinals who would want one of their own running the shop. The pastoral camp seems to be focusing on two Americans, New York archbishop Timothy Dolan and Boston archbishop Sean O'Malley. Neither has Vatican experience. Canadian cardinal Marc Ouellet is well-respected, stemming from his job at the important Vatican office that vets bishop appointments. If the leading names fail to reach the 77 votes required for victory in the first few rounds of balloting, any number of surprise candidates could come to the fore as alternatives. During the voting, each cardinal writes his choice on a rectangular piece of paper inscribed with the words 'Eligo in summen pontificem' - Latin for 'I elect as Supreme Pontiff'. Holding the folded ballot up in the air, each approaches the altar and places it on a saucer, before tipping it into an oval urn, as he intones these words: 'I call as my witness, Christ the Lord, who will be my judge that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.' After the votes are counted, and the outcomes announced, the papers are bound together with a needle and thread, each ballot pierced through the word 'Eligo'. The ballots are then placed in a cast-iron stove and burned with a special chemical. That is when all eyes turn to the 6ft copper chimney atop the Sistine Chapel to pipe out puffs of smoke to tell the world if there is a new pope. Black smoke means 'not yet' - the likely outcome after round one. White smoke means the 266th pope has been chosen. The next pope will face a church in crisis: Benedict spent his eight-year pontificate trying to revive Catholicism amid the secular trends that have made it almost irrelevant in places like Europe, once a stronghold of Christianity. Clerical sex abuse scandals have soured many faithful and competition from rival evangelical churches in Latin America and Africa has drawn souls away. Closer to home, leaks of papal documents last year exposed ugly turf battles, allegations of corruption and even a plot purportedly orchestrated by Benedict's aides to out a prominent Italian Catholic editor as gay.

Source: Daily Mail.