New black smoke signals cardinals fail to elect pope again in morning ballots

 VATICAN CITY – Cardinals resumed voting for a second day Thursday to try and elect a new pope in a Conclave but at the end of the morning black smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel chimney again, signalling that the second and third votes of the election also had failed to elect the 26th leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

 The princes of the Church were breaking off from the voting for lunch and further discussion before resuming work with two votes Thrusday afternoon that many observers say are likely to produce the new pontiff. 

 The conclave has been described as the hardest to call the outcome of in 50 years due to the unusually high number of electors, 133 in all, many of them voting for the first time and not understanding Italian, and potential candidates for St. Peter’s throne.

  Some 45,000 people gathered in St Peter's square Wednesday evening to watch for the result of the first vote that had been expected as early as 7 p.m. but only at 9 p.m. did black smoke billow out of the chimney meaning that no cardinal had obtained the 89 votes required for election in the first vote.

 jp