Word: vaticans
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...since 1523? Austria's Franz König spoke in favor of that idea; none of his fellow Cardinals, however, appear to be joining such a movement. In fact, Spain's Marcelo Gonzales Martin declared that an Italian would provide the needed "balance and serenity." One seasoned Vatican official-neither a Cardinal nor an Italian-figures the conclave simply will not have the courage to break the centuries-old lock that Italy has on the office, even though non-Europeans now constitute 64% of the world's Roman Catholics...
...Ethnic solidarity enhances the prospects of three Curial Italians: Sebastiano Baggio, 65; Paolo Bertoli, 70; and Sergio Pignedoli, 68. At the same time, Curial clout damages the candidacy of Argentina's Eduardo Pirono, who is Italian descended but heartily disliked by many of his fellow Cardinals in the Vatican because he is an individualist and an outsider. (Besides that, he is a "young" 57. None of the seven Popes elected in the past century have been below...
...Sales told a friend last week. "We are simply going to have to look for one." During the hunt, new names kept cropping up on the list of papabili. For instance, Florence's Giovanni Benelli, 57, a kingmaker and a possible candidate himself, was heard by a Vatican insider to say he favors Albino Luciani, 65, of Venice, particularly because of their shared aversion to Communism. Carlo Confalonieri, who carries much weight among Italians, although he is too old to vote, agreed. Suddenly Luciani, heretofore seen as a remote compromise candidate, shot up on the lists...
...choosing the latest possible start for the conclave, the Cardinals gave themselves ample time to size up one another, as they have already done to an unprecedented degree at various international meetings that stemmed from the Second Vatican Council. The delay also provides ample opportunity for the 80-and-over Cardinals to influence the conclave from which they are barred. The elders generally prefer a flags-flying conservative, but even the most prominent man in that camp, the Vatican's Pericle Felici, 67, is widely considered unelectable. So they would be likely to turn to a moderate who tilts...
...moment, at least, the Cardinal most in the public eye is France's Jean Villot, the first non-Italian in modern times to be Camerlengo (Chamberlain) or interim administrator of the Vatican between Popes. Villot was Paul's Secretary of State, which theoretically made him the Vatican's virtual Prime Minister and eminently papabile. In fact, Curial Italians routinely bypassed the Frenchman and dealt with Benelli, who was nominally Villot's assistant until he assumed the Florence see. But an adroit performance as Camerlengo could make Villot, 72, an attractive compromise choice...