UNITED STATES
NBC News
By Tracy Connor, Staff Writer, NBC News
A lame-duck pope. A secret dossier. Rumors of a gay cabal. A cardinal accused of “inappropriate” behavior.
The Vatican is in an uproar, and church scholars say there hasn’t been this much drama surrounding a conclave since 1800, when Pope Pius VI died while being held prisoner by Napoleon.
One Vatican watcher says you have to go back to 1730 — when Pope Benedict XIII’s right-hand man fled Rome in disguise amid allegations of corruption — to find a conclave buffeted by this much scandal.
“This is not a healthy situation for any kind of institution,” said the Rev. Thomas Reese, an expert on the Catholic Church at Georgetown University.
“It looks like amateur hour.”
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