Pope Tests His Security Detail by Wading into Crowd

From: Yahoo News

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis gave his security detail a taste of his new papal style on Sunday by stepping outside a Vatican gate to greet a boisterous crowd of well-wishers.

The pope said Sunday morning Mass in the small church of Santa Anna, just a few feet inside the gate of the same name, for Vatican workers who frequent it as their parish.

He arrived in a black car, again shunning the papal limousine, and immediately went over to hundreds of people who had gathered at the gate to get a glimpse of him.

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Politico Playbook - Breaking - Conclave Electing New Pope

From: Mike Allen's Politico Playbook

BREAKING: “Conclave electing new pope could start before March 15 – Vatican,” by Reuters’ Philip Pullella in Vatican City: “The conclave to choose Pope Benedict's successor could start earlier than expected, giving the Roman Catholic Church a new leader by mid-March, the Vatican said … [T]he Vatican was still in a state of spiritual and bureaucratic shock, groping for ways to deal with a situation without precedent for at least six centuries. Some 117 cardinals under the age of 80 will be eligible to enter the secretive conclave to elect Benedict's successor. Church rules say the conclave has to start between 15-20 days after the papacy becomes vacant, which it will on Feb. 28. … Cardinals around the world have already begun informal consultations by phone and email to construct a profile of the man they think would be best suited to lead the Church in a period of continuing crisis. The Vatican appears to be aiming to have a new pope elected and then formally installed … before Palm Sunday on March 24 so he can preside at Holy Week services …

Pope blesses Twitter, Facebook to spread Church teachings

From: CNET

The pope has friended the online social networks in a big way.

Pope Benedict XIV, who only recently joined Twitter himself, is calling on his followers to use social-networking sites such as Facebook, Tumblr, and Pinterest to spread their faith to nonbelievers.
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Security at Church: It's official... The Pope has now endorsed social media... Now I just need to work on getting him to tweet this webiste!