People are wagering on who will be the next pope:

An Italian and a Nigerian cardinal are tied as Irish bookmakers' favorites to succeed Pope John Paul II.

More than 5,000 people have placed bets on who will be the next pope with Paddy Power PLC, Ireland's largest bookmaking chain.

The early favorites are Dionigi Tettamanzi of Italy and Francis Arinze of Nigeria, both listed on 11-4 odds. That means a winning $4 bet would pay out $15.

Betting resumed Monday in shops and on the Internet on the question, "Who will be the next pope?" The firm had suspended betting for one day Sunday out of respect to John Paul, who died Saturday.

Betting was suspended one day out of respect? That statement seems a little strange... given that the whole betting process in this context seems disrespectful. I'm not even Catholic (nor am I fan of many of their tenants) and this still seems distasteful.