Vatican

For the first time in history, the Roman Catholic Church has a pope from the New World, but liberal American Catholics should not expect Pope Francis to stray far from the old theology. Some things are excitingly different about this new pontiff. On matters of birth control, abortion, homosexuality, celibate priests and the role of women in the church, however, he is no revolutionary. When Argentina's Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio stepped out on the Vatican balcony as the new pope on Wednesday evening, all he was required to do was wave and give a blessing.

VATICAN CITY - In a busy first full day as head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis on Thursday showed that he intends to shun the trappings of high office and introduce a humble note to the papacy. The 76-year-old pontiff returned to the clerical residence in Rome where he had stayed before the papal conclave to pick up his luggage and settle his bill. "He paid the bill to set a good example," Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said. Driven around Rome in a Vatican car without an escort, Francis also showed up at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore   with little notice to offer a bouquet of flowers and pray.

ROME -- Italy's Vaticanisti, the small band of journalists who claim to have secret sources inside the Holy See, may have utterly failed to predict the election of pope Francis, but they can take consolation from the fact they were not alone in heavily backing Italy's Cardinal Angelo Scola. Minutes after Jorge Mario Bergoglio was named pope Wednesday evening, the conference of Italian bishops emailed a press release that welcomed “the news of the election of Cardinal Angelo Scola as the successor of Peter.” A full statement attached to the email did name Bergoglio, but the mistaken cover note raised suspicions it was pre-written by officials who considered the papacy a done deal for Scola, the archbishop of Milan.

VATICAN CITY -- As Rome and the world await the next puffs of smoke from the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican on Wednesday sought to downplay reports of divisions among the 115 Roman Catholic cardinals gathered to elect a new pope. Speculation that disagreements over candidates may be slowing the selection of a successor to Pope Benedict XVI was “invented," Vatican spokesman Rev. Tom Rosica told The Times.   “These reports are inventions, often launched by people as balloons, without any foundation and it is very unfair to read these ideas into what the cardinals are doing,” he said.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the first non-European pope in more than a millennium and the first from South America, was a surprise choice to lead the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics.  Few Vatican watchers had the Argentine cleric near the top of their lists of potential successors to Benedict XVI. Here are five questions about the new pontiff. The answers, as they emerge, will provide a clearer understanding of where Pope Francis will take the church. 1) The new pope is a Jesuit, an order known for its scholarship, intellectual rigor and progressive tradition.

The Vatican clarified Wednesday that the new pope -- the first to take the name Francis -- will be known as Pope Francis, not Pope Francis I. The Wednesday bulletin issued by the Vatican announcing his selection as pope called him simply Francis, as did the cardinal who announced his name from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. “It will become Francis I after we have a Francis II,” Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi quipped to the Associated Press. The new name, taken by Argentine Jesuit Jorge Bergoglio, marks the first time that the leader of the Roman Catholic Church has chosen to be known as Francis.

VATICAN CITY -- Roman Catholic cardinals signaled Wednesday that they had failed to agree on a new pope during the early session of the second day of secret voting inside the Sistine Chapel. Black smoke rose from a stovepipe above the chapel before noon as ballots from the morning's vote were burned because no single candidate had won support from at least two-thirds of the 115 cardinals gathered to choose a successor to Benedict XVI. Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square under a sea of umbrellas and gave a shout as the smoke poured skyward.

The 115 Roman Catholic cardinals charged with selecting a new pope to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics cast their first votes Tuesday and continued their secret deliberations, signaling with black smoke from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City that they were not finished. The voting will continue until a candidate receives a two-thirds majority among the cardinal electors. At that time, the selection of a new pope will be announced to the public with white smoke from the Sistine Chapel and the ringing of the bells of St. Peter's Basilica.

VATICAN CITY -- Steeped in tradition and pageantry, the ceremonies that will produce a new pope officially began Tuesday morning when 115 Roman Catholic cardinals celebrated Mass in the majestic St. Peter's Basilica. In resplendent red capes trimmed in gold, and with white miters soaring from their heads, the cardinals filed into the cathedral, two by two. The procession passed the tomb of St. Peter and the body of Pope Pius X, leading finally to the famous Bernini altar that dominates the church.