The process of electing a new pope is going to take at least one day longer. A cloud of black smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel chimney in the Vatican Tuesday, indicating the voting cardinals could not reach a consensus on a new pope in their first conclave vote.

After a morning full of prayer, the group of 115 Catholic cardinals began the process of selecting a new pope Tuesday afternoon, as thousands of the Catholic faithful watched outside from St. Peter's Square. If white smoke had emerged, it would have meant the cardinals had selected a new pope to succeed Pope Benedict.

From Reuters:

 "No conclave in the modern era has chosen a pope on its first day, and some cardinals speculated this week that it might take four or five days to pick the man to replace Pope Benedict, 85, who unexpectedly abdicated last month.

The so-called 'Princes of the Church' will spend the night in a Vatican hotel before returning to the frescoed Sistine Chapel at 9:30 a.m. (0830 GMT) on Wednesday to continue voting, with two rounds set for the morning and two for the afternoon.

Until they choose a new pontiff, their only communication with the outside world will be the smoke from the Chapel chimney - black when voting sessions end with no result and white when a pontiff is elected."

In the meanwhile, the world's largest Christian demomination--with 1.2 billion members, will continue on without an official head to lead the organization through this tumultous period that includes numerous sex abuse scandals throughout the U.S. and Europe.

In addition, PBS is reporting:

The church is also confronting the so-called "Vatileaks" affair, in which the former butler to Pope Benedict shared with a newspaper some confidential documents stolen from the pope's chambers. A church investigation of the incident reportedly shed light on corruption and infighting in the Vatican bureaucracy. In addition, the Vatican Bank is under investigation by Italian authorities for alleged money laundering.

A required two-thirds majority of 77 votes is needed before the Church can declare a decision on a new pope.

For more of Neon Tommy's coverage of the Roman Catholic Church and the pope, click here.

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