Why is the Papal election so important to the world?

As we all know there are various religions around the world which are important to millions of people. We have Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism and a whole of other faiths that shape people’s lives giving meaning to all its faithful. However, none attracts more attention of the media than the Roman Catholics that are ruled by the Pope. Why is that?
Christians have been divided since the year 1000 AD: In the West we had a Pope in Rome and in the East we had an Orthodox Patriarch. 500 years later Protestants opened another breach at the core of the Western Christianity and they have now more than 200 different branches. Even so, the Roman Pope survived all that and remained “unbeatable” throughout the centuries to this day. Whenever something happens with Protestants or the Orthodox the news don’t usually make the headlines for days on end unless we’re talking about the Queen of England who is also the head of the Anglican Church, that is.

So what is so magnifying about the Pope and the Vatican elections? First, we need to realize that the Pope is not only the head of the Roman Catholic Church, a spiritual leader, but he is also head of state: the Vatican is the smallest country in the world. This means that it works and functions like any other state: it has citizenship, a bank, police (the Swiss Guard) and so on. So the Pope, as head of state, is a political figure sitting in the heart of Europe. Its power and influence was built over the centuries. Once, it had the power to let live or crush nations. And to this day the Vatican is a powerful state that can still influence policies worldwide. Cardinal Karol Józef Wojty?a (Pope John Paul II) was a key figure to put an end to communism influence in Poland helping the Solidarity Movement (a political movement that begun in the labor unions of Poland which contributed to the fall of Communism in that country – refer to Lech Wa??sa -) with his very actively political speeches in favour of peoples freedom. Just for the record, Pope John XXIII was considered the “red pope” because the decided the renew the Church and started the Second Vatican Council in the 60’s. So, the next man to come will have a lot to decide about the church and the world.
Also, the Vatican bank, deals with millions and it is considered one of the best off-shores in the world. People with money don’t pay taxes there.

However, there is another side to the matter. Apart from the human side of it, the Pope is also the leader of millions of faithful that believe that the Pope is elected through the inspiration of the Holly Spirit who, via the cardinals vote at the conclave, delivers the new shepherd to the Church. So, we are dealing with faith pure and simple, and it is usually that belief that drives people in the most important choices of their lives. So, who the Pope is and what he says is no light business.

Today, the 12th of March, the Conclave begins. There should be one vote at least and no one expects to have white smoke today. So, if balck smoke comes out of the chimney we expect four elections a day until white smoke comes out meaning there is a new pope: Habemus Papam.