1. a) How many Catholics are there in the world?
b) What is the role of the Pope?
c) How do these facts make the Pope's resignation a major news story?

2. a) Why is the Pope stepping down?
b) Why is Pope Benedict's resignation historic?

3. Define Vatican and conclave (as used in para. 7)

4. a) By what date will a new pope be chosen?
b) Why is this quicker than the time usually taken to choose a new pope?
c) How is the pope chosen?

5. From London's daily Telegraph: "In the age of 24-hour news, email and Twitter, few announcements of state are kept a secret before they are made, even fewer have the power to make the world stop in disbelief." Why do you think the pope's surprise resignation was able to do so?

6. Andreas Dingstad, a spokesman for the Catholic diocese in the Norwegian capital of Oslo, said the time might be right for a “youngish” pope, possibly from the developing world. “The church is growing most in the south. So I think lots of people will be ready for a pope from Africa, Asia or South America,” Mr. Dingstad said. “But who knows; it’s the early days still.”
a) What percent of Catholics are American?
b) What percent of Catholics are Latin American (Central and South America, excluding Mexico)?
c) What percent of Catholics are Asian?
d) What percent of Catholics are African?
e) What percent of Catholics are European?
f) Should the new pope be from Africa, Latin America or Asia, or should he be chosen without considering what country/region he is from? Explain your answer.
(find the answers at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_by_country)