by The Wanderer
Argentina
April 23, 2025
Shortly after the death of Pope Francis, the Vatican was a hornet's nest, in every sense of the expression. In other words, it was and is chaos. It could not be otherwise when those who are at the head of the most delicate mechanisms of the Church are useless people placed there at the whim of the tyrant.
The first major problem faced is the location. Bergoglio's decision not to reside in the Apostolic Palace, because he was very humble as we all know, and to settle down in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, generated a difficult atmosphere: gossip, comings and goings of journalists, powerful people with briefcases full of money, etc. More out of necessity than taste, Francis modified the original structure of the Domus, planned by John Paul II as a residence for the cardinal electors during the conclave and hotel or lodging for prelates during the rest of the time. As the reigning Pope lived there, entire floors were reserved exclusively for him, with important structural adaptations and the fixed permanence of collaborators and prelates close to him.
And when he died there, the situation became even more complicated. For example, it was necessary to wait for the transfer of the body to St. Peter's Basilica in order to prepare the Domus for the cardinal electors. While the body was there, the entire house was armored, and the rooms reserved for it must remain sealed until the election of the new pontiff.
The Constitution Praedicate evangelium [on the Reform of the Roman Curia], signed by Francis, is proving problematic. It is up to Cardinal Pietro Parolin and the Cardinal President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State to address the question of alternative accommodations for the cardinals, since not all of them will be able to reside in the Domus due to lack of vacancies, precisely because of the reorganization carried out by Pope Francis over the years and the number of cardinals, which is greater than that foreseen by John Paul II. But in the Governorate there is no cardinal, but "Marshal" Raffaella Petrini, a Franciscan nun chosen by the Pope to occupy this position, contrary to the laws in force in the Vatican City State.
My friends who wander around the Sacred Palaces insist that everything is chaos, and some - the most wicked ones - laugh with pleasure. There are many widowers desperate because they know that their sinecures are over. The fact is that the pontificate of Pope Francis, strongly centralized and marked by drastic decisions, has created a polarized internal system and things will be hard.
Those who will surely return to Buenos Aires will be his private secretaries. And the rest of the Argentines accommodated in the Vatican's nooks and crannies are terrified. One of them is Gustavo Zanchetta, who had asked the justice of Salta for an extension until May to remain in Rome and not return to prison. He ran out of leaves of absence. And another one is Tucho Fernández. He knows, as everybody knows, that he will be the first one ejected from the curia, whether a conservative or a progressive is elected. Some curials have raised bets, and playing some in some good Roman trattoria, on how long he will remain in the palace of the Holy Office after Bergoglio's successor is proclaimed.
Emilce Cuda, the feminist theologian who was taken to the Vatican from the Devoto seminary [the Archdiocesan Seminary of Buenos Aires], is already looking for some classes to give in the institutes higher learning of the Buenos Aires metropolitan area, and the Argentine bishops do not feel comfortable. There are many who fear that what happened to their Chilean colleagues will happen to them: collective resignation.
When the Church is in a vacant see, the offices must be very straightforward and clear. And so they always were. But Bergoglio had a heavy hand and, besides reforming the Curia, he also reformed the funerals. Fortunately, he did not have time to reform the conclave. Consequently, by changing without legislating, chaos ensues, which increases when those in charge are useless.
To make matters worse, the conclave, as everyone knows, will not be short, and that increases concerns, especially knowing that the Church will be under the charge of Giovanni Battista Re, whose record in 2013 is not the best. Everyone knows, however, that the serious problem is the master of ceremonies, Abp. Diego Ravelli. Smug, but with an amazing ability to sow chaos, as seen in recent years while he was in charge of the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. The internal organization of the conclave is ultimately in the hands of the masters of ceremony. It will be dramatic chaos, they lament. Some have suggested that Ravelli step aside and that Bishop Guido Marini take over.
The improvisation and exceptionality of recent years are now taking their toll. The conclave that is looming on the horizon will be one of the most complex in history. Not only because of the logistical difficulties, but above all because of the spiritual and institutional legacy that Pope Francis leaves behind: a Vatican and a Church that is fractured, disoriented, and forced to face its deepest contradictions.
