As with basically everything else in the world that has any semblance of an uncertain outcome, people are betting on who will replace Joseph Ratzinger. Allow us to help you decide where to put your money.
By now, we're all familiar with the rituals associated with the papacy changing hands — white smoke, the red shoes, free helicopter rides — but the Vatican has discovered a new one for the 21st century.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
B16, who plans to resign on February 28, will trade the red, shiny, and expensive-looking slippers for a pair of pedestrian brown loafers presented to him by a Mexican shoemaker. Can we quit it with the Prada Pope rumors now?
The Archbishop of Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, has been forced to resign just days before the Pope Benedict XVI steps down, leaving Great Britain without a representative at the upcoming papal conclave.
According to the Italian paper La Repubblica, the real reason Pope Benedict XVI resigned lies in a 300-page Vatican dossier that allegedly found an underground network of high-ranking gay clergy, complete with sex parties and shady dealings with the Vatican bank. Here's what we know.
The Vatican admitted on Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI may issue a decree to speed up the process to select his successor, to prevent the Catholic Church from being leaderless at an important time of the year.
Infallibility. Immunity. Health care. Pope Benedict XVI is expected to only have two of these things upon his retirement next week. If you had any questions about the pope, like if we can still call him a pope or about where his infallibility goes now, we have got you covered.
Bill Keller on the Catholic Church, Timothy Noah on the new silent majority, Megan Greene on Greece, Jennifer Rubin on Mark Sanford, and John Harris on vegetarianism.
The long road to the conclave is well under way. But who wants to wait until then? The campaigning and quizzing about who should be the next Pope is already going on, behind the scenes, in "phone conversations" and "e-mails." How very 21st Century of the Catholic church.
Vatican officials maintain that no church money ever funds war, but their newly appointed bank president has business ties to a warship builder.
In the last weeks and months of his pontificate, Vatican power brokers have been furiously jostling and speculating over another mystery beyond his replacement: who will ascend to the presidency of the Vatican bank.
Today, Pope Benedict XVI announced plans to live out his retirement "hidden from the world." That should come easy, considering how successful the Vatican has been at keeping secrets under wraps during his seven-year papacy.
As the papal exit strategy develops, Benedict XVI made his first public appearance since announcing his resignation, reiterating his strong abdication statement that he simply doesn't have the energy to do the job anymore.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
It's interesting to think about where the next pope will come from and what that says about the Church's worldwide following. This map from the Washington Post helps.
Peter Wensierski on the polarizing pope, Greg Sargent on Ted Nugent's friends in D.C., Sam Lagrone on looming Navy cuts, Jeffrey Toobin on vanishing Republicans, and Andrew Ross Sorkin on an elite LinkedIn.
A summary of the best reads found behind the paywall of The New York Times.
The Daily Show host connects hoaxer extraordinaire Ronaiah Tuiasosopo — the guy who invented the Manti Te'o fake girlfriend — to the swarm of questions surrounding the Pope's resignation.
Pope Benedict XVI caught nearly everyone off guard with his sudden resignation today, but will his surprise departure also manage to shake up the Vatican? The answer to that question rests heavily on who his own people choose to replace him.
Far from the Vatican, the non-believers of the Internet aren't quite buying the old-age excuse — or at least they're getting distracted on a Monday by alleging everything from Benedict's Nazi past to new sex scandals.
Eleanor Clift on State of the Union stakes, Andrew Brown on the pope's resignation, Marc Thiessen on Jack Lew's offshore investments, Connie Rice on the LAPD's culture, and Fouad Ajami on drones.
The Vatican confirmed this morning that Pope Benedict XVI will resign his position as head of the Catholic Church later this month.
The long wait is over and we've finally got the first words of Twitter wisdom from Pope Benedict XVI.
The Vatican officially unveiled the new personal Twitter account of Pope Benedict XVI this morning, and he hasn't even had to tweet anything to blow past your puny follower count.
If there's anything that Pope Benedict XVI loves more than cats, it must be the adorable, collared babies of big exotic cats, because we've never seen the man happier than he was petting a pair of lion cubs at the Vatican on Saturday.
Did you hear? Did you hear? I'll tell you everything, my dears. The pope didn't cancel Christmas after all!
On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American Saint, and six others in front of some 80,000 people at Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.
Paolo Gabriele, better known as the Pope Benedict XVI's ex-butler, found out today that he might have to spend six years in jail for stealing and leaking confidential papal papers to the press.
Pope Benedict XVI had some fighting words for Mexican drug cartels ahead of his visit to the country today
Today: Kate Middleton takes the field, George Clooney is planning to get arrested this morning, and Kate Couric's new show will debut on September 10.
Gerard Butler's stealthy rehab stint is ending today, the John Edwards sex tape is on borrowed time, and Chris Brown is being investigated for stealing a fan's iPhone
As 22 archbishops are elevated to the elite rank of cardinal, someone is leaking embarrassing Vatican documents.
Normally we don't take advice on social media from 84-year-old priests, but let's hear Pope Benedict XVI out on this one.
Clothing retailer Benetton has torn down a controversial ad from stores and billboards that featured a doctored photo of Pope Benedict XVI making out with Grand Imam Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy after the Vatican threatened to take legal action.
Clothing retailer Benetton has launched another shock-ad campaign that aims to sell more of their high-end clothes folks with Photoshopped images of world leaders playing tonsil hockey.
Nicholas Kristof on capitalism, E.J. Dionne on the Vatican, and Jonathan Chait on Paul Ryan.
Plus: tough questions about William Shakespeare's drug history
Also, watch him go "ahhhh!"
A special edition of What the Tweet looking at our two of favorite sources of "huh?"
A traditional talk show it wasn't, but it represents the Vatican's efforts to be more transparent
A Catholic official claims Western air strikes have killed 40 in Tripoli
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