# White smoke! We have a Pope! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 13, 2013, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838 "2013-03-13T18:10:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/141 "2013-03-13T22:12:44Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Pope Frank it is. Was this guy one of the names being bandied about? Hot dog! ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/142 "2013-03-13T22:15:02Z")
Wow that was fast. I was preparing myself to have to put up with a week or more of 24-hour non-stop “we still don’t have a Pope” breaking news. Glad they got it over with. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/143 "2013-03-13T22:16:44Z")
John McLaughlin is the most famous Jesuit that I’m familiar with. He uses the Socratic method of thinking on the The McLaughlin Group querying his guests. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/144 "2013-03-13T22:17:12Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Frank’s a nice name. Frank, Frankie, Fran, Frannie… little Frannie poo… The poor guy is being misunderstood already. They told him he was the new pope and asked him for a name, and all he said was “can I be frank?” Now he’s stuck with it. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/145 "2013-03-13T22:24:38Z")
I wonder how many folks will be running searches on the new pope and end up [on the wrong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_the_Talking_Mule) [Wiki page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Mules_for_Sister_Sara)? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/146 "2013-03-13T22:38:51Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I honestly doubt that. Why wouldn’t he go for Ignatius? He had to know people would think of the big Francis, not more minor Francises. > > This is a guy who has made a big deal of humility and poverty. In little blurbs about him, that’s how he’s identified, as someone who has made a big deal over the poor and his own dedication to leading a simple, humble life. Is it impossible for him to be referencing _both_ Francises? (What is the plural of Francis anyway?) Francis Xavier wasn’t “minor” for Catholics, even if outside that faith he’s not as well known as St. Francis of Assisi. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/147 "2013-03-13T22:48:15Z")
Very true on both counts. Francis Xavier is a pretty big deal himself, unlike the lesser known Francis Carracciolo, Francis of Paola or Francis de Sales. Personally I think it’d be cool if it were a reference to [Francis Douglas](http://www.fdmc.school.nz/?sid=671) but I doubt anyone outside New Zealand or the Phillippines would have heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/148 "2013-03-13T22:48:20Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Francis Xavier wasn’t “minor” for Catholics, even if outside that faith he’s not as well known as St. Francis of Assisi. He was minor for me as a Catholic. And note I said “more minor.” If you say “Saint Francis” with nothing else, that means “of Assisi.” From [a Vatican spokesman](http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/13/world/pope-name/index.html): > [@](#): > > Pope Francis chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi because he is a lover of the poor, said Vatican deputy spokesman Thomas Rosica. > > “Cardinal Bergoglio had a special place in his heart and his ministry for the poor, for the disenfranchised, for those living on the fringes and facing injustice,” Rosica said. > > St. Francis, one of the most venerated figures in the Roman Catholic Church, was known for connecting with fellow Christians, Rosica added. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/149 "2013-03-13T22:55:26Z")
Well that’s pretty conclusive then. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/150 "2013-03-13T22:59:42Z")
> [@Simmerdown](#): > > [QUOTE=Munch] > He was the runner up in 2005. And I’d guess that not only does every single person elevated to Cardinal ponder a papal “What if…?”, every single person ordained a priest does the same. Interesting. Is this common knowledge? I couldn’t find any info to that respect in a (brief) google search. IANAC (Catholic). [/QUOTE] Previous thread on topic: [How quickly does the new Pope have to decide on a papal name?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=683205) ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/151 "2013-03-13T23:22:43Z")
Crap :(, now the Catholic Church political power in Argentina, in the wane for decades will receive a shot in the arm. Legalizing abortion and getting the churh out of our Constitution just got harder :(. Not to mention the indications that he collaborated with the military junta during the “Dirty War”… ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/152 "2013-03-13T23:30:09Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Pope Pepe (Pepe’s short for Francisco). > > He sounds like a better choice than Ratzy, but I guess anyone would have been a better choice (his stance on homosexuality, contraception and euthanasia are abhorrent to me). I have some bad news for you. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/153 "2013-03-13T23:42:17Z")
Are there people who _seriously_ thought there was any possibility of a new pope NOT being anti-abortion, anti-contraception, and anti-same sex marriage? How the heck would someone get to be a cardinal if they weren’t a toe-the-line Catholic? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/154 "2013-03-13T23:52:27Z")
> [@JillGat](#): > > “We”? Speak for yourself. I don’t acknowledge any pope. I assure you he exists. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/155 "2013-03-13T23:55:48Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I assure you he exists. I was at the book store once and I saw an older woman hand a book to her mom. The woman said, “Hey mom, I found this book on the Vatican.” Mom: “[Scoff] I don’t believe in that place.” Daughter: “Well, it’s a place. So even if you don’t believe in it it’s still there.” ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/156 "2013-03-13T23:59:22Z")
I’m not surprised the pope is those things. But I wanted someone more in line with liberation theology and social justice. After all, there are things that can decrease the need for abortion, or the burden that unintended pregnancies can cause on women and families (education, better health care, better job conditions, etc.). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/157 "2013-03-14T00:05:16Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A very good choice, to me. A little odd, perhaps, seeing as how the Jesuits are the Pope’s own shocktroops, but all the ones I’ve encountered are great guys. You have to give him the education card at least, and he’s a teacher to boot? GOLDEN! Yeah, I’ve always had a grudging respect for the Jesuits because of their pursuit of education, and willingness to go exploring in new territory. One of my favorite Alaskan explorers was [Bernard Hubbard](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_R._Hubbard), SJ (of Santa Clara College), who explored some of the wildest and most remote areas of southwest Alaska and wrote riveting books about it. I hope he shakes things up, but his orthodoxy might get in the way. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/158 "2013-03-14T00:10:04Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > “When I was seventy-six, it was a very good year…” At least you know: _“He’ll do it HIS way”_!🆒 ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/159 "2013-03-14T00:12:42Z")
Wtg, slight drift: the Vatican website confirms that he is to be known as Francis, not Francis I. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2013, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838/160 "2013-03-14T00:19:59Z")
> [@MoodIndigo1](#): > > Wtg, slight drift: the Vatican website confirms that he is to be known as Francis, not Francis I. . . . and later, when and if there is a Francis II, then the original Francis will be re-branded as Francis I. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-smoke-we-have-a-pope/652838.md?page=9)