Update: Hungary's Erdo rejects conclave deal with Cardinal Parolin
Sources suggested that Cardinal Parolin was keen to get support of the conservative cardinals in the conclave.
UPDATE: On Sunday May 4, Cardinal Erdö directly rejected the idea that he might enter into a pre-conclave arrangement with Cardinal Parolin.
In a statement issued via Hungarian Ambassador to the Holy See, Eduard Habsburg, the cardinal said:
“Any speculation of a pre-conclave deal between Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdö and former Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin is totally false. Cardinal Erdö has engaged in no such discussions.”
The Hungarian cardinal’s denial certainly clarifies the record, after reports had emerged this week about a possible alliance between him and former Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.
The below report was written and published prior to Cdl. Erdö’s Sunday statement.
(PerMariam) — Pre-conclave rumors are now in full swing, but sources have attested this week that conservative cardinals are considering supporting Pietro Cardinal Parolin instead of Hungary’s Peter Cardinal Erdő. What could this mean for the Church?
On April 28, the first General Congregation after Pope Francis’ funeral was held, and conclave preparation properly began in earnest. Now the date has been fixed for a May 7 start, and currently nearly all of the cardinal electors are in Rome, minus a mere handful.
Campaigning, at least unofficially, is naturally in full swing. But cardinals nevertheless differ when asked about the conclave: some say it will be two or three days, while others say there is still much they do not know about each other and hence suggest a longer process than normal.
Classic divisions emerge: liberals will propose a champion, conservatives their own, and in time both sides may unwillingly be forced to move towards a compromise candidate. Which side is favored more by such a compromise choice remains to be seen.
Naturally, cardinals are keeping their oath of secrecy well enough to prevent them officially talking about who is emerging as leading candidates within the Synod Hall, where the meetings are being held. And while this is proper and in accord with the Church’s law, there is a silence in the answers they do give which also points to something else – namely that many observers suggest that there is no clear front-runner in the conclave.
In fact, this was highlighted this week by Gerhard Cardinal Müller, who told Raymond Arroyo that the absence of consistories during the Francis pontificate meant members of the College of Cardinals don’t know each other. {Click on image for link to video}
At this point, many readers may well protest and point to the much-talked about figure of Cardinal Parolin, the former Secretary of State for Pope Francis. Is he not after all the obvious choice of the bookies and the newly-declared ‘conclave experts’ who have arrived at the Vatican these past few weeks and yet remain unable to differentiate between a cardinal and a bishop?
But Parolin’s candidacy has run into problems, and now, a shock alliance is being rumored.
The great surprise is that sources suggest that Cardinal Erdő – who is viewed as a leading conservative papabile – is entertaining entering an understanding with the liberal candidate Cardinal Parolin.
Well-sourced as ever, Messa in Latino wrote that sources reported Erdő was considering lending his support to Parolin, in order to prevent a more heterodox candidate gaining control. In return Parolin was described as giving guarantees on doctrinal issues which have suffered so much under Francis, and granting more freedom to the traditional Mass.
Some time later, La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana echoed this report, saying that Parolin had been canvassing cardinals for their support in return for his promises to overturn Traditionis Custodes and Fiducia Supplicans.
A few days ago rumors emerged that Parolin had already some 40 or 50 votes secured, and thus the bloc of around 20 votes estimated to be backing Erdő would indeed be very appealing for him.
The majority needed is 89.
But why would Parolin do this?
Certainly Parolin is the most well known cardinal for many in the College, quite simply due to his former office under Francis. He has also been visibly keen to promote himself in recent weeks, and though he aligned himself with enough aspects of the Francis papacy to show himself a loyal character, he nevertheless distanced himself from the man and the themes so as not to be simply viewed as a Francis II.
Indeed, in recent years a growing rift was emerging between Parolin and Francis, although the casual observer would not perhaps notice it.
But this week has been tumultuous for Parolin, and may have led to his having to look for support further across the college than he expected.
For starters, there was the arrival of Joseph Cardinal Zen from Hong Kong, who has been a vocal critic of Parolin’s controversial Sino-Vatican deal.
Zen has accused Parolin of “lying” about the origin of the China deal, and has been unflinching in his public appraisal of Parolin in this matter. Parolin’s smooth diplomatic skills have been at the forefront of his role as Secretary of State, and Zen himself praised Parolin for such diplomacy but added that it was not of a sort befitting a Catholic: “I don’t think he has faith. He is just a good diplomat in a very secular, mundane meaning.”
According to reports, Zen was allowed to make a 12-minute intervention in the meetings this week, far longer than the customary 5-minutes allotted to cardinals. He had already said that he was in Rome “offering special prayers for the Universal Church and the Church in China.” It seems very unlikely that he would not have used this rare opportunity to warn the cardinals about Parolin’s record on China.
Then, the Chinese authorities announced this week that they had moved forward with installing two bishops this week, without gaining any Vatican consent. Such a development clearly demonstrated who holds power in the Sino-Vatican deal, and will have been an embarrassment to Parolin.
In fact, Parolin has been so much under the spotlight as papabile that many have used the opportunity to take unexpected digs at him. This week, 74-year-old French cardinal Philippe Barbarin issued devastating criticism of Parolin.
Barbarin said that results from Parolin’s record as Secretary of State “fall short of expectations.”
“To be frank, I find that Cardinal Parolin, while competent, lacks the stature that one would ideally expect from a Secretary of State, let alone a Pope,” the Frenchman added.
Adding injury to insult, on Wednesday night Italian journalist Nico Spuntoni reported that Parolin had a medical episode that day at the General Congregation, requiring medical assistance for an hour. It was described as being due to high blood pressure levels, and that there were no longer term effects.
After gaining traction online and in the Italian media throughout Thursday, the Holy See Press Office made the curious move of officially denying the event. On Friday press office director Matteo Bruni denied both that the event happened and that any medical staff intervened.
Spuntoni later confirmed that his sources stood by their original testimony, and US outlet The Pillar also reported that Parolin did in fact see a doctor on May 1.
Here we see a battle between sources and the official denial. The Vatican press office has been caught doing dodgy things before: coming to the defense of the former Secretary of State should not be surprising. Indeed the very fact of the press office’s denial suggests the panic currently being felt by the Parolin campaign, resulting in an order for such a denial. Notably, though the press office denied it, there was no comment from Parolin.
But all these aspects together in swift succession have changed the dynamic of the past week.
On Monday, Parolin appeared as the most notable and arguably likely papabile. By Friday evening he is still the most well known, but his chances of ascending to the throne appear greatly damaged and reduced.
Parolin had been named in 2024 reports as being a key supporter of rumored new restrictions on the Latin Mass, but later denied any such involvement when questioned by this correspondent.
His terrible record selling out the Underground Church in China speaks for itself, as does the increasing rates of Catholic persecution which followed the signing of his deal in 2018.
He has offered strong support to some of the most controversial aspects of Francis’ papacy such as the Abu Dhabi document and Amoris Laetitia, both of which have been described by theologians and cardinals as presenting signal dangers to the Catholic faith.
Should he ascend to the papacy, his reign would likely be one of great danger for the faith.
Indeed, should he be prepared to promise to rescind some of the restrictions on the traditional Mass that he supposedly was personally in favor of, then it would also suggest that it is power and not principles which he holds dearest.
The conclave is now four full days away, but a lot can happen in that time. Pre-conclave meetings continue Monday and Tuesday, but outside of those events the cardinals will be gathering amongst themselves to discuss the most pressing issues which they have heard this past week.
Meanwhile, the priority for the Church remains to pray for the conclave and for a good and holy pope to guard the deposit of faith and help lead souls to Christ.
It is a complete mistake to think that Peter Erdő would make an alliance for the sake of the Latin Mass. He has absolutely no interest in the Latin Mass.