White smoke billows from the stove in the Sistine Chapel, and every bell in Vatican City must be peeling right now. This means only one thing: the College of Cardinals have, in near-record time, selected a pope. Incredibly, they seem to have done this on their third ballot!
We don't yet know who this is. The favorite candidate is Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who holds the post of chief of doctrine at the Vatican.
I see many German flags waving as Fox News Channel breaks to St. Peter's Square. One of the views on display is of the famous balcony where a new Pope appears.
UPDATE: The announcement is now taking place (16:41 UTC; 12:41 p.m. EDT). The Dean of the College of Cardinals has stepped forward to announce the Pope's name, according to a long and involved Latin ritual.
The victor: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger!
The official name he will now take will be Benedict XVI.
Obviously the College has struck a blow for the continuance of church doctrine. As if that weren't enough, for the new Pope to take the name of Benedict, a name associated with one of the most stern and rigorous orders of monks, should stand as further evidence. However, commentators already tell us that Benedict XV, the last Pope to carry that name, served just prior to the First World War...
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