Now, the changes resulting from these consultations, known as “synods,” have become a dividing line among the voting cardinals.
The synods were seized on by conservatives as a “Trojan horse” for a so-called woke agenda and inspired a progressive German rebellion. To the annoyance of many, one of Francis’ last moves before his death on April 21 was to extend these deliberations for another three years, despite speculation that he was merely using delaying tactics to avoid instituting more radical reforms.
The legacy of that decision, and its implications for where Church power really lies, is now one of the main issues being discussed in pre-conclave lobbying sessions, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions. And this ideological struggle, the people said, is coalescing around one man in particular: the Holy See’s secretary of state and Francis’ longest surviving ally, Pietro Parolin.
The Francis clone
This shrewd diplomat has already been a figure of controversy since the pope first grew ill in February. Parolin’s quiet assertion of spiritual leadership during that period, in particular his prominent role in a powerful prayer session outside St. Peter’s in late February, boosted his image, while attracting suspicion from those who saw him as making a bid.
As bookies bet on a Parolin papacy, campaigns were quickly launched to discredit him: Traditionalists in particular cast him as a Francis clone, while drawing attention to his controversial deals with the Chinese government, and his oversight of a key Vatican ministry involved in a €200 million scandal in 2019.
But for those wary of the waning influence of Rome, Parolin is a good option. The cardinal is seen as having resisted the synodal reforms. That has earned him the backing of some of the so-called curial cardinals, Vatican officials who work directly for the Holy See in Vatican City, according to the people cited above.
