VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
A candidacy that grew in the meetings between cardinals. Very few votes for the favourite Scola
Andrea Tornielli
Vatican City
Jorge Mario Bergoglio has never much loved curial meetings and in recent years he has come to Rome as little as possible. In the two weeks preceding the start of the Conclave he did not participate in any meeting that was related to his potential nomination to the papacy. How is it possible that in just five ballots he reached, and apparently easily surpassed, the quorum of 77 votes necessary for the election? The outcome of the previous conclave, during which, according to the diary published by Italian magazine Limes, Bergoglio obtained about 40 votes, was not decisive. Indeed, being in the running but with unsuccessful results in the 2005 election from which Benedict XVI was elected could have represented a handicap rather than an aid.
We should not forget that after that Conclave the authority of the Archbishop of Buenos Aires increased even more. For example, during the CELAM meeting in Aparecida and in the Synods of bishops. The brief and heartfelt speech that Bergoglio gave in the course of General congregations struck a particular chord with cardinals, as he spoke about the face of God’s mercy. While the real and media nominations of Cardinal Angelo Scola, Archbishop of Milan, of Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, and of the Archbishop of São Paulo, Odilo Scherer were growing, Bergoglio’s was also growing away from the spotlight. Several cardinals from various continents, such as Africa and Asia, had decided to vote for him from the very beginning. Surprisingly, even some Italian curials chose him immediately as a candidate.
The primaries of the Conclave, on Tuesday evening, March 12th, showed the solidity of his candidacy, which was significant from the onset in terms of votes. While Scola’s appeared less solid than expected. “Regardless of what has been said, Cardinal Scola did not achieve the consensus,” said the President of the Brazilian Bishops’ Conference, Raymundo Damasceno, interviewed by Globo.com.
Ouellet and Scherer’s nominations also appeared downsized. The vote at the end of the first day of the Conclave indicated that Bergoglio activated the “Ratzinger effect”, namely that the Argentine cardinal earned votes progressively until the white smoke on Wednesday evening. He eventually gained Ouellet, Scherer and finally Scola’s votes. “South American cardinals,” added Cardinal Damasceno, “have greatly appreciated the value of Bergoglio, so it is clear that he managed to garner such strong support.”
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