A group of hardline conservative Catholics are pushing for the next Pope to be more aligned with their view of Catholicism, and they don't seem afraid to use smear tactics to discredit candidates they don't like.
As cardinals prepare to enter the Sistine Chapel on May 7 to begin the election of the next Pope, enemies of the late Pope Francis, both inside and outside the group that will elect him, are mobilizing.
A faction that had been slandering Francis as a heretic, an antipope, and even the “Antichrist” for his supposedly liberal stance is waiting by the wayside. “ Now they see an opportunity to attack ,” according to Politico.
Conservatives were angered by Pope Francis' more conciliatory stance on gay issues and divorce, his protection of immigrants and the Vatican's deal with China that gave Beijing a say in appointing Catholic bishops.
“ The hope is to have a papacy that focuses more on Catholic issues, such as the defense of life and family, than on climate change and immigration ,” Gloria, Princess of Thurn and Taxis, a German aristocrat and the most respected woman in Rome’s conservative Catholic scene, told Politico.
Some influential conservatives are promoting far-right candidates, such as Athanasius Schneider, a bishop in Kazakhstan, who has claimed that refugees in Europe are a “mass invasion” leading to Islamization, organized by political elites with the aim of undermining Europe’s Christian identity.
Other names circulating on conservative lists include Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea, a prominent supporter of the Latin liturgy, and American Cardinal Raymond Burke, an extreme traditionalist who has supported US President Donald Trump.
“ We’re seeing a paradox: the leadership is more liberal, but there have been a large number of conversions and a large increase in traditionalism ,” said John Yep, executive director of the conservative nonprofit Catholic for Catholics, which organized a prayer event for Trump at the Mar-a-Lago resort, with a ticket price of $1,000.
"The cardinals understand that, although some of the leaders may have liberal leanings, they know that their faithful in their homeland tend toward more conservative views. They will have that in mind as they enter the conclave ," he added.
“ 56% of Catholics voted for Trump ,” Yep said. “ The same segment of the population looks to Rome and wants the Pope to be a traditional and strong ally of the US and our stance, for example on the security of our borders ,” he notes.
The undermining of Pope Francis
As Politico reports, even before Francis' death on Easter Monday, a campaign to discredit his reforms had begun, coming from a growing group of well-funded, conservative Catholic nonprofits based in the US, which were working with far-right politicians to promote a blend of Catholic dogma and nationalism.
Among the most well-known is the Napa Institute, known for its luxurious annual conferences at a California wine resort, which aims to combine " conservative theology and libertarian economics, with an emphasis on apologetics, sexual ethics, and countercultural antisecularism ."
Another organization, Sophia Institute Press, funds the traditional Catholic blog One Peter Five, which regularly criticizes Francis, and collaborates with the Catholic television giant EWTN, which has been used to accuse Francis of covering up sexual abuse by clergy.
One program, Red Hat Report, launched in 2018, aimed to use former FBI investigators to compile dossiers on each cardinal, in the manner of investigating the political opposition, highlighting their theological and pastoral priorities and evaluating them for how they handled the clerical sex abuse scandal.
Their main target was Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Francis's deputy commander and the favorite to succeed him. He should "become known worldwide as a disgrace to the church ," the editor wrote in a note to investigators.
The influence of the conservative right could also benefit from the Vatican's increasingly difficult financial situation, with Reuters reporting a revenue deficit reaching 83 million euros.
With the city-state reportedly seeking outside funding, the choice of the next pope could be vulnerable to wealthy right-wing donors in the US, a senior Church official told Politico, adding that the issue was raised at pre-conciliar meetings called General Assemblies, which cardinals have been attending every day for the past week.
The coming days, before the start of the Conclave that will decide the next Pope, are crucial, as conservative Catholics try to make their voices heard among the cardinals who have the right to vote.
"It is extremely important that the new Pope takes the reins again and reaffirms what Catholics have believed for 2,000 years," said Yep of the organization Catholic for Catholics, who described Francis as one of the most controversial leaders in the modern history of the Catholic Church.
However, even conservative groups themselves acknowledge that they have an uphill battle ahead. With 80% of cardinal electors appointed by Francis, their best hope is to block the election of progressive candidates.
The Conservatives are also hampered by the fact that they have no specific leader. Cardinal George Pell, who died in 2020, was a “ crucial role-maker, lobbyist and key power player ,” according to a well-informed Vatican ambassador, but since his death “ there is no clear leader of the group .”
The hardliners are trying to tip the balance, but given the mathematical situation in the conclave, they don't have much confidence that the next Pope will be one of their own.
“ Not only do they not have the numbers to approve someone like Cardinal Sara or Hungarian Cardinal Peter, they don’t even have the numbers to form a minority that will block the liberals ,” said Benjamin Harnwell, a correspondent for Steve Bannon’s War Room in Italy. “ It’s an un-Catholic conclave ,” he added.
Scare tactics
One thing that has changed since the last Conclave in 2013 is that lobbying has moved to the digital world.
With the proliferation of conservative blogs and social media influencers, the campaign this time is " something I've never seen before ," said Steven Schneck, former director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America.
“ A flood of analysis, opinions and real campaigns from outside groups and influencers is underway ,” he said, suggesting that its immediacy and reach could make a difference.
"It's a psychological game"
Leading candidates are worried about what could happen. A video of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, one of the frontrunners to succeed Francis, singing karaoke to John Lennon's "Imagine" was published by the right-wing website LifeSiteNews, with critics claiming that lyrics such as "Imagine there's no heaven" are a " renunciation of atheism ."
“ They know they don’t have the numbers, so the goal is to intimidate the reformers. The message is: ‘Look, you can’t elect a Francis II.’ It’s a psychological game ,” said veteran Vatican observer, journalist Marco Politi.
But once the cardinals are in the Sistine Chapel, they will be removed from outside interference. "It's hard to say what will happen. Even the best-laid plans don't always survive contact with reality. This group of cardinals never had the chance to get to know each other. They are still testing their mettle, to see what kind of people they are ," the Vatican ambassador said.
* Politico article , adapted into Albanian by A2 CNN (A2 Televizion)
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