Fr. Barron: It's All Because of Peter

Father Robert Barron continues to report for NBC and maintain what he calls "smoke watch." According to the Catholic News Agency, the smoke signals are taking place early within the expected time frames. As of this writing, the conclave has taken three votes without electing a pope.

Fr. Barron is a little behind on posting his conclave updates. He nicely pointed out that he told the anchor on the Today Show that the reason the whole world is watching is because of Peter. Here's is yesterday's update in which he asserts that two factions exist within the conclave. He rightly concludes his update by asking us to pray for him and more importantly, the 115 cardinals who continue to meet.

Fr. Barron: "No Clear Front Runner"

Father Robert Barron continues to report from Rome on the pending conclave which begins tomorrow. In this recent update, he indicates that the overall consensus is that no clear front runner is emerging from among the cardinals. Additionally, he shares about his conversation with his NBC Catholic commentary colleague, George Weigel who is best known as the premier biographer of Blessed John Paul II. Father Barron also alluded to the buzz surrounding Timothy Cardinal Dolan's celebration of Mass at his titular parish yesterday.

Watch the video below for the complete update:

Tools for the Toolbox: Conclave Resources

As the Church gears up for the upcoming Conclave to elect a new pope, you might be asking yourself, "How do I find out more about papal conclaves?" I am debating on whether or not to devote a new page on this blog dedicated to all things related to the conclave. For the time being, I have gathered a number of sound resources for you to review and prepare yourself not only for the conclave, but for all the questions you are getting from co-workers, friends and family. These are all great opportunities for evangelization!

Electing the Pope

This new website is a collaboration of several Catholic bloggers, catechists and teachers and it seeks to be a meta site for explaining the conclave and related topics. Its contributors include the likes of Sarah Reinhard who writes the Snoring Scholar blog and is a regular contributor to the Catholic Mom. The  site includes information about the papacy, Catholic symbols and best of all, a Q & A section.

In the Light of the Law

If you are interested in a Canon Law perspective, you need not go any further than Dr. Edward Peters' blog, In the Light of the Law. Dr. Peters is a canon lawyer and has written several books on Canon Law including OSV's 100 Questions About Annulments.

EWTN - The See of Peter

You can never go wrong with EWTN as one of the resources you regularly check for anything Catholic. They have put together a number of resources on a new page entitled The See of Peter. The page includes a number of links including overviews on the papacy and the college of cardinals. The page also includes links to several of the documents governing the election of a new pope.

National Catholic Register

If you are looking for a resource to follow news about the Catholic Church, you needn't go further than the National Catholic Register.  The NCR provides comprehensive and orthodox reporting on the Catholic Church. You will find well written articles, radio broadcasts and blog posts on their site.

Pope Names Book, Jimmy Akin

Jimmy Akin, who is a senior apologist for Catholic Answers, has written an ebook entitled Pope Names. In the book he explores the history of papal names, how name have chosen and he even explores the statistical probability of the name choice for the next pope.