Damian Thompson has gone through the
list of possible candidates at the next conclave. Key points from his
article about the next conclave in 'Spectator'.
- Cardinal Pietro Parolin
behaves like "a pope-in-waiting". He is portrayed as a 'moderate' but
there is nothing moderate about the surrender to Beijing. He is the
"Manchurian candidate". Parolin’s attitude against the traditional Latin
Mass – increasingly popular with young Catholics – can hardly be
described as tolerant.
- Sidenote on the Chinese allies of
Parolin: Beijing, which owned the gay hookup app Grindr when it was
installed on hundreds of clerical smartphones, has vast amounts of
Kompromat to play with, perhaps a factor in the Vatican's kowtowing to
the Chinese Communist Party.
- Cardinal Matteo Zuppi
of Bologna, a bicycling beanpole, - widely seen as Parolin's rival
among the Italian bishops - is a kind-hearted socialist and homosexual
propagandist.
- Cardinal Luis Tagle of the Philippines was mysteriously demoted by Francis as head of Evangelization, but is now back in favor.
- Cardinal Mario Grech , the Maltese secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, is despised by conservatives who call him "the bozo from Gozo".
- The 'conservatives' don't seem to have a candidate.
- Cardinal Peter Erdő of Budapest is nervous and hesitant.
- The ex-Protestant Cardinal Anders Arborelius
of Stockholm is deeply spiritual (?), but it doesn't help that he is a
Carmelite - after a Jesuit pope. Cardinals are wary of electing another
member of an order.
- Cardinal Fernando Filoni
is a diplomat who risked his life as ambassador to Baghdad, but he's
been accused of keeping quiet about the homosexual Cardinal McCarrick.
- Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa,
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, made headlines when he offered himself as
a hostage in place of Israeli children. He has a dignified charisma and
doesn't belong to any faction, but at 59 he is young.
- None of
the above can boast a contacts book, knowledge of secrets or reserves of
patronage to compare with those of Cardinal Parolin.
- Another
side note: Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, 93, wants to be in Rome for
possible pre-conclave meetings but Cardinal Parolin wants to stop him.
Will Beijing intervene? Zen called Parolin a "poisoned mind". "Parolin
himself knows he is lying."
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