The French president has met with cardinal electors to spice up help for his favored candidate, Italian media claims
French President Emmanuel Macron is making an attempt to affect the upcoming papal conclave in favor of a French candidate to grow to be the subsequent Pope, a number of conservative Italian media shops have claimed.
The studies emerged following conferences between the French chief and several other cardinal electors, in addition to a pacesetter of an influential Catholic motion forward of the conclave set to find out Francis’ successor.
Macron had lunch with 4 of the 5 cardinal electors of French descent, together with Jean-Marc Aveline, the archbishop of Marseille, final Saturday on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral. The pontiff handed away on April 21.
Final Friday, the French president additionally had dinner at a restaurant in Rome with Andrea Riccardi, the pinnacle of the Neighborhood of Sant’Egidio, a strong Catholic affiliation with greater than 70,000 lay members in 74 international locations, and which reportedly has clout over some members of the upcoming conclave.
In response to the Italian every day Il Tempo, the French chief requested the cardinals about methods to construct a consensus round Aveline. The outlet referred to as the cardinal – who is taken into account a contender to grow to be the subsequent Pope – an “ultra-European, anti-sovereignist” and “probably the most liberal” members of the conclave.
The every day additionally described the conferences for instance of “interventionism worthy of a brand new Solar King,” in an obvious reference to France’s seventeenth century King Louis XIV, who sought to affect the election of a Pope by way of French cardinals. One other Italian paper, La Verita, instantly accused Macron of in search of to decide on the subsequent Pope.
The Elysee Palace didn’t formally touch upon the agenda of the 2 conferences. The Neighborhood of Sant’Egidio denied the allegations, telling Le Monde on Thursday that Macron “seeks to grasp the method, not affect it.”
Conservative Italian media linked the president’s actions to his want to regain worldwide affect and mend ties with the Holy See, which reportedly soured beneath Pope Francis. These claims caught the eye of French information shops, together with Le Monde, which stated their Italian colleagues have been spreading “rumors,” reflecting the mutual mistrust between Paris and Rome.
A conclave involving 135 cardinals is ready to convene on the Vatican on Could 7 to elect the subsequent Pope.
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