According to reports, Pope Francis is in the repair, after a double pneumonia case landed at the 88 -year -old pontiff in a hospital in Rome for more than a few months, and doctors warned that “I might not do it.”
But he is still fragile and Easter services could not be leadedInstead, leaving the honors to several cardinals.
“He has not yet cured,” said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, head of the Pope’s medical team.
In the midst of everything, it is almost certain that the cardinals are Alreaty discussing Francis’s potential successor and take into account the main contestants to avoid a lined conclave.
The last time there was a papal vacancy, in 2013, the late Benedict XVI Pope, then 85, resigned from the post, the first Pope to do so in 600 years.
He took two weeks for Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the archbishop of Buenos Aires, and the future of Pope Francis, was chosen.
According to the standards of the Vatican, “two weeks is not much time,” said John Thavis, papal expert and author of “The Vatican Diaries: a look behind the scene of power, personalities and politics in the heart of the Catholic Church.”
But it is unlikely that the next transition will take so long.
“One reason is that the cardinals are very aware that the world is looking and waiting,” Thavis told the post. “A prolonged conclave that lasts a week or more inevitably inviting speculation at the highest levels of the church. Even the worst, a long Wolde probablel conclave losing the interest of the world. The fear is that the White White White Nosors be be be be be be be be be be be be be be be bay be pack
There is likely to More attention to the Vatican thanks to the “conclave” The 2024 academy nominated film was, for many Americans, his first look at what happens behind the duration of Miter’s passage.
In it, the hungry cardinals of power conspire and blackmail to become the next pontiff, with a round after voting round that is almost interrupted by a terrorist bomb attack against the Vatican.
But there is not much truth in the film, at least according to Susan Hanssen, Ph. D., associated professor of History at the University of Dallas, who said that the conclave was “soaked in banal left jargon.”
“It is essentially a form of propaganda to influence the way the papal conclave is perceived at this time,” he told The Post. “No one should confuse the Hollywood film with” internal scoop “about historical reality.”
What the film did well was the general timeline of the events. When the current one dies or renounces, there are two phases in search of their replacement. “First it is a preliminary period that allows discussion among all cardinals,” Thavis explained. “The conclave itself, when the cardinals vote in the Sistine Chapel, is tightly sealed in regards to public information.”
Because the papal choice requires a two -thirds majority, there is always the possibility of a dead conclave. “But in modern times, the vote in the Sistine Chapel has never lasted more than a few days,” Thavis said. The last length conclave was in 1740; It lasted six months. The longest registered conclave of 1268, the last 34 months.
Altheheh Cardinals makes lobby for papal candidates, unlike the film, tends to be “very discreet,” Thavis said. They could speak with each other, but any open campaign is considered a bad form.
“And no cardinal would make a campaign for himself,” Thavis insisted. “That is the kiss of death.” In fact, any type of “wheels and treatment”, as is typical in politics, such as the supply of favors or future appointments promised in exchange for votes, is not only missed but could cause an excommunication.
In a memorable “conclave” scene, Cardinal Aldo Bellini (played by Stanley Tucci), admits that each archbishop or cardinal has already secretly chosen his papal name. This is not true, Thavis said: “Because most cardinals know that their possibility of being chosen is close to zero.” If they house scenarios of “what would happen if”, they keep ambitions to the issues and “be careful not to reveal it to Thers.”
And the reality is that most cardinals “ran shouting until night instead of looking for work,” said John L. Allen Jr., an expert in Vatican and author of “All The Pope’s Men: The Inside Story of the Worathnys think.”
The papacy may seem the final career objective for any cardinal, but many consider it “a life sentence, or less a burden that he expects to lead until he is too old and broken to do anything else, everything that is told.” It is not like being president of the United States, putting in its four years in its years, then collecting six -digit rates and playing golf all day. ”
In addition, the life of a retired cardinal is a good business. “They still treat you as a prince, you get the best seats in all restaurants and theaters, but you don’t have to go to work in the morning,” said Allen.
Although any Roman Catholic man baptized is technically eligible to be elected Pope, only cardinals have been chosen since 1378. It is unlikely to change with this transition. “The rule on any baptized man was made when the number of cardinals was quite small, so there was a practical benefit in the field,” Thavis said. “But that’s not true today.” There are currently 252 cardinals, 137 or who are under 80 years old and, therefore, are eligible as cardinal electors.
A more important question is, could an American cardinal be in the race?
There are several Americans considered promising candidates, such as Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, the now retired archbishop of Boston, and Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, the retired archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri. But Hanssen believes he is the longest of long shots. Althegh, the United States has the largest number of cardinal voters in the conclave outside Italy, there has never been a Pope born in the United States.
Some of that is political. American cardinals “are often seen as cultural warriors,” Thavis said. “The divisions between the Catholic hierarchy of the United States, along with the auctioned and not so auctioned criticisms of Pope Francis, have made other cardinals or choosing an American Pope.”
Timothy M. Dolan, the New York Archbishop, could be a contender, “but the main blow against Dolan is that it is simply too American,” he said everything. That does not mean that he won the Get Review.
“It is seen as charismatic, articulated and some certainly capable or that remain on the global stage, having served as the main pastor of the capital of the media of the universe,” he added everything. “However, I suspect you would have to qualify Dollan as a long shot, not as a favorite.”
For an American to be consulted, it would have to be the “correct” son of the Americans, said Allen. “Someone with a significant experience abroad, a capacity with languages and the perception of being humble and open instead of playing with the stereotypes of American arrogance.”
The current corridors include Italian cardinals Pietro Parolin, the current Secretary of State of the Vatican, and Matteo Zuppi, president of the Bishop Conference of Italy.
“Probably also on that list should be Cardinal Mario Grech of Malta, currently head of the Vatican Bishops Synod, and Cardinal Krajewski, the Pope’s main charitable official,” said Allen.
Thavis considers Parolin the choice “safe” because he is “an Italian who knows the Roman curia and has been close to Francis.” But, he said, “it has not been practically pastoral experience,” I work as a parish priest or diocesan bishop, “which he will count against him.”
Above all, what many expect in the next lake is a “return to normal,” said Hanssen. Someone who embodies what the faithful expect from a Pope, and could even inspire those who have moved away from the Church to return.
Competitor Thavis. “They will try to find some that support the most welcoming vision of Pope Francis of the Church, but perhaps with a more cautious and careful language than Francis’s employee,” he said.
A point where almost everyone can agree, said Allen, is that “what is coming later, a little more calm would be good.” Pope Francis has had some controversies. “Whether you love Pope Francis or hate him, everyone agrees that it is a roller mountain.”
