A frenzy of betting is underway as gamblers try to predict results of the upcoming conclave to pick Pope Francis’ successor. The cardinals may be stacked against them.

“We need to welcome and accompany,” said Sue DeFerrari, executive director of MorningStar Renewal Center, a Catholic ...

As more than a billion Catholics around the world await the election of a new pope, all eyes are on the Sistine Chapel, where 133 cardinals are beginning the secretive process known as a conclave.