ROME, April 21: A landslide majority but technical hitches hampering the joyful announcement — accounts and indiscretions emerged Thursday about the election of Pope Benedict XVI, most of them never to be confirmed by cardinals who have vowed lifelong silence.
“It was easy to elect him,” was all Mexican Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan would say about this week’s conclave.
So easy that German-born Joseph Ratzinger may have garnered an impressive 100 votes or more from the 115 cardinal electors, several Italian newspapers reported on Thursday.
The exact number of votes in favor of Benedict XVI will likely never be known, as records of the four ballots of this week’s conclave have been sealed and can only be opened upon order of the pontiff himself.
But citing Vatican sources, Rome’s Il Messaggero reported that the new pontiff was elected with possibly up to 107 votes, with just seven cardinals prefering another man for the job.
“I will say nothing about the conclave, but yes, there was great unanimity,” acknowledged Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn in an interview with the daily La Repubblica.
The newspaper’s respected Vatican expert Marco Politi reported that Ratzinger was a favorite from the very first round of voting Monday, with the number of his supporters increasing at each round.
“We all felt that he was our brother with superior qualities,” Schoenborn was quoted as saying.
Turin’s La Stampa newspaper, citing an anonymous cardinal, said the new pope benefitted from the fact that there was no clear candidate to oppose him.
Ratzinger’s leading competitor was Italian Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, in fact more of a “popemaker” than a “papabile” due to ill health, several reports said.
Tuesday’s lunch break was key, with liberal cardinals who had initially supported Martini deciding to back Ratzinger, although at least 10 refused to change camps, La Repubblica said.
The high prelates broke into applause as the scrutineers announced the result of the vote, but tension remained high until the new pope accepted his elevation as pontiff. Then there was further applause.
Announcing their choice to the world turned out to be more complicated than the cardinals expected.
The successful election of a pope is to be signalled by bells and white smoke emerging from the specially-installed chimney of the Sistine Chapel.—AFP
