But within hours of cardinals
entering the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday afternoon to begin
the laborious task of electing a new pope, it was clear
the knives were out for Cardinal Scola, the Archbishop of
Milan.
Cardinal Scola, the bookies’ choice and leader of the
Catholic world’s largest diocese, was surprised, if not
a little shocked, to have been beaten by an unfancied
Argentinian Cardinal in the very first round, according
to La Stampa’s Vatican correspondent. Jorge Mario
Bergoglio didn’t have enough votes for outright victory,
but by then, the die was cast.
An unholy alliance between two other Italian
grandees, Tarcisio Bertone and Angelo Sodano, who by all
accounts can’t stand each other, had set the ball
rolling for Cardinal Bergoglio. Overseas conclave
members determined to put and end to the warring
Italians’ stranglehold on the Curia joined in. When the
pragmatic and powerful American grouping led by New
York’s Timothy Dolan backed the Argentinian’s cause it
was all over for Cardinal Scola. Leading Vaticanologist
Massimo Franco spoke for many pundits this morning when
he said years of infighting between senior Italian
cardinals had repelled Church figures from overseas.
Instead, Pope Francis represented a fresh start – and a
more global, inclusive Church
Cardinal Bergoglio was so confident that he would not
be elected pope that he had booked a return air ticket
to Buenos Aires, said Federico Wals, a spokesman for the
Catholic Church in Argentina.