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https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/pope-benedict-xvi-dies-aged-95-3176651?cid=FBcna VATICAN CITY: Former Pope Benedict died on Saturday (Dec 31) in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican, a spokesman for the Holy See said. He was 95. "With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9.34am in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican. Further information will be provided as soon as possible," the spokesman said in a written statement. The German, who in 2013 was the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign as head of the worldwide Catholic Church, had become increasingly frail over the years. He moved out of the papal palace and into a former convent within the Vatican when he retired.

from Yahoo: Argentina's Bergoglio elected as new Pope Francis By Philip Pullella and Barry Moody | Reuters

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30890989 I like this guy, although I'm not Catholic, but he seems very forward thinking, modern, unlike the previous ones who give me impression of slow, dying, not doing much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNpXHowPBFw A peace gesture took an ugly turn on Sunday when two white doves, released after Pope Francis addressed a crowd in Saint Peter's Square, were attack by other birds. Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-popes-peace-doves-were-attacked-2014-1

This is the 1st pope to ever resign in history, I think .. Saw it on TV.. I'm sure can google up some news.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100523/tts-...ld-c1b2fc3.html Nothing against the Pope comment. But just realise something contradicting while reading... ""Trichet's comments were echoed by Pope Benedict XVI, who criticised governments[/size] for failing to take tough action to regulate banks and markets in the wake of the financial crisis."" ""Elsewhere in Europe, the Bank of Spain said Saturday it was taking over the running of a regional savings bank controlled by the Roman Catholic Church after it experienced financial difficulties and a merger plan failed."" So is the economic problem affecting the Catholic run bank so badly or they had in the first place run into too much debt or had been running risky investing etc. Should not they as a Church run bank be just a kind of financial association setup to help and not to generate huge income??? Should they never take on risk for better gain.. I doubt they will run into any problem...

About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Chinese had to leave Italy. Naturally there was a big uproar from the Chinese community. So the Pope made a deal. He would have a religious debate with a member of the Chinese community. If the Chinese win, they could stay. If the Pope wins, the Chinese would leave. The Chinese realized that they had no other choice. So they picked a middle-aged man named Ah Peh to represent them. Ah Peh asked for one condition to be added to the debate. "To make it more interesting", he said, "neither side would be allowed to talk". The Pope agreed. The day of the great debate came. Ah Peh and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute. Then the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers. Ah Peh looked back at him and raised one finger. The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Ah Peh pointed to the ground at where he sat. The Pope pulled out a loaf and a glass of wine. Ah Peh pull out an apple. The Pope stood up and said: "I give up. This man is too good. The Chinese can stay." An hour later, the cardinals were all around The Pope asking him what happened. The Pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the holy trinity. He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to both our religions." "Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all around us. He responded by pointing to the ground and showing that God was also right here with us." "I pulled out the wine and loaf to show that God absolves all sin. He showed me an apple to remind us of the original sin. He had an answer for everything. What could I do?" Meanwhile, the Chinese community had crowded around Ah Peh. "What happened?" they asked. "Well," said Ah Peh, "First he indicated to me that all Chinese had 3 days to get out of here. I replied to him f*@k off and not one of us was leaving." "Then he pointed that this whole city would be cleared of Chinese. I showed him that we are staying right here." "Yes, and then???" asked the crowd. "I don't know", said Ah Peh, "He took out his lunch, and I took out mine!!!"