In his book Popes, Dollars, and War,
Italian journalist Massimo Franco claims that Leo XIV was elected, in
part, to help bring American donors and dollars back to the Vatican.
Franco found an anonymous cardinal who said that "the combination of doctrine and dollars won".
And:
"The American bishops were tired of being criticised [under Francis]
and decided to make themselves heard [...] The new incentive is money,
first used against Francis and then in the conclave to elect Prevost."
During
the pre-conclave meetings, Japanese cardinal Tarcisio Kikuchi said:
"Are politics involved in the Conclave? No, I don’t think so. But maybe
money."
Cardinal Reinhard Marx dedicated a full day of the
pre-conclave discussion to the Holy See’s finances. Cardinal Müller
responded back then, "Enough! We have to elect the successor of Peter,
not Judas!"
At a book presentation in Rome on 27 April, Cardinal
Gerhard Müller rejected the hypothesis that money played a role in Leo
XIV’s election with an outright "No".
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