A “war” is predicted in the coming Conclave on 7 May. Of the 135 Cardinals eligible to vote, 108 were appointed by Pope Francis, whose apparent intent was to influence the votes for the next Pope in favor of the Liberals. Those appointments were quietly fast-tracked, spread out over the last few months by Pope Francis for an obvious reason.

After centuries of dominance by the Conservatives, Pope Francis was the first Liberal to ascend to the throne, and his apparent strategy was to keep the Liberals in power. The Liberal Cardinal Tagle, the most visible on social media, is at the eye of the storm. Over and above these earthly strategies is God’s will in “appointing” His next Vicar on earth.

Note that “Conservatives” and “Liberals” are used loosely in media as generic terms and are subject to interpretations, with a wide gray debatable area. So, readers are advised to take this into consideration, especially in branding certain Cardinals as one or the other. There is a wide rainbow of complex theological positions and gray areas, among Popes and Cardinals, present and past.

As a historical background, Pope Benedict XVI, a staunch Conservative, branded as the “German Shepherd,” ironically endorsed Pope Francis, a staunch Liberal, as the next Pope.

Benedict could not solve the many Vatican issues, and decided to resign. In spite of their many irreconcilable debates on Church issues, the hand of God made sure to end the centuries-old reign of the Conservatives with the ascendency of the first Liberal, the first Jesuit to ascend to the throne, Pope Francis.

For example, Benedict could not control his fellow Conservatives, especially the powerful Roman Curia, the central government of the Church. He also could not resolve the many Vatican problems, such as the Vatican Bank scandal, and the growing pedophile epidemic, as court cases against prelates soared worldwide, bleeding the Church coffers dry. Before he resigned, Benedict prayed for a good replacement.

Upon ascending the throne, Pope Francis quickly suppressed the Conservatives in a deadly blitzkrieg, especially in the Roman Curia, within six short months, shocking the Vatican media.

Francis did it quickly but not totally, and paid a dear price for it. The Conservatives exacted deep vengeance that led to accusations of papal “heresy” and “blasphemy.” An eye for an eye. This was the “apostasy,” the civil war between the Liberals and the Conservatives that Our Lady of Fatima had prophesied.

The perceived “war” in the upcoming closed-door Conclave at the Sistine Chapel is predicted to delay the sending up of the white smoke that would signal the election of a new Pope.

Never has social media been so active in the Papal interregnum, destroying Conclave protocol with fake news, semi-fake news, campaigns for pet Cardinals, lists of dozens of pope-able Cardinals, etc. When Cardinal Tagle went viral, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) asked the Filipino faithful to refrain from campaigning for him, as this would be detrimental to his election. After all, the Conclave is not an “election” of politicians.

The best attitude among fence-sitters like all of us is to keep quiet, stop speculating, minimize social media theories, and help identify and stop fake news. Leave the Conclave Cardinals to do their duty — and simply wait for the white smoke to come out.

Please read previous background history “3 Popes — “JP2, Benedict, Francis” = https://tribune.net.ph/2023/09/04/3-popes-jp2-benedict-francis.