VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
A sophisticated anti-bug and cell phone signal system has been installed in the Sistine Chapel: “Confidentiality is crucial”
GIACOMO GALEAZZI
Vatican City
Still no white smoke to mark the start of the Conclave. Only yesterday, criticisms were being made about the running of the Roman Curia. Vatileaks, lack of coordination, problems in the Curia’s relations with Bishops’ Conferences were all central issues in the cardinals’ speeches during the General Congregation. Lajolo, a Sodano supporter, leapt to the Curia’s defence but another Curia member, Rodé, joined in the criticisms. The start of the Conclave has still not been announced as agreement has not yet been reached. But in a comment, the American, Mahony, said: “The Congregations are coming to an end, the start-date is near.” “It will not be loong before we decide,” French cardinal, Barbarin confirmed. After Benedict XVI’s resignation, cardinals need to show to the world that they have taken on board his warning against “the divisions that disfigure the face of the Church.”
So the sticking points (IOR, scandals, governance) need to be resolved before the start of the Conclave, because too many inconclusive votes could give the world the impression that there is a lack on unity in the Church, both in terms of aims and vision. “The mass media have come up with all sorts of exotic names for potential popes, but who’s actually going to vote for them?” the Italian Curia member asked, smiling, as he stood in front of St. Peter’s Basilica. Althought the Conclave start-date is not yet known, the voting area and the spaces surrounding it, (Sistine Chapel and the Santa Marta residence) are in the process of being cleared out and debugged. The aim is to avoid what happened in the 2005 Conclave, when a German cardinal managed to leak cardinals’ choice of Joseph Ratzinger for Pope, so German television reported the news before the Protodeacon managed to make the famous “Habemus Papam” announcement. To prevent this, a Faraday cage is going to be used to block bug signals.
The Apostolic Palace is riddled with bugs which were installed as a response to the document leak. In the Vatileaks era the Conclave has also become a game of mirrors between those who installed the bugs and those who now have to remove them. Two needs must be reconciled here: one is the need for the Curia’s security and secrecy in the papal election. The Secretariat of State has explained that it is “like a post-war conversion.” The hunt for the poison pen letter writers involved the need for exceptional measures to be taken, but in the case of the sede vacante these measures pose a threat to the secrecy of the papal election. A “heavy” apparatus that was useful during the “war time” but which must now be re-adapted to the extremely delicate “peace” phase during which time the Pope is chosen. The Synod Hall, where the pre-Conclave meetings take place, has already been shielded to prevent the use of cell phones and the wireless network has been deactivated to ensure a complete communication black-out with nearby media. Throughout the course of the papal election, electors’ movements between the Santa Marta residence and the Sistine Chapel will be monitored and they may also be searched. The risk is a news leak via technological means.
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