CHARITY LEFT OUT:

Argentine cardinal accused in kidnappings (AP, 4/16/2005)

Just days before Roman Catholic cardinals select a new pope, a human rights lawyer filed a criminal complaint against an Argentine mentioned as a possible contender, accusing him of involvement in the 1976 kidnappings of two priests....

"This is old slander," the Rev. Guillermo Marco, Bergoglio's spokesman, told The Associated Press in Rome. "This is the week of slander."

Papal negative campaigning and the role of the Holy Spirit (John Allen, National Catholic Reporter, 4/15/2005)

The belief that God is involved in some human undertaking does not make it any less human, and applied to conclaves, it means that the role of the Holy Spirit does not make this any less a political exercise.

If you want proof of the point, consider the various forms of "negative campaigning" that have been floating through the Roman air in recent days:

Italian media have reported rumors that Cardinal Angelo Scola of Venice has been treated for depression, suggesting a sort of psychological instability that might disqualify him for the church's highest office;

Other reports suggest that Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai has diabetes, a telltale sign of ill health that might undercut what had been a growing swell of positive talk about him, at least in the local press; in addition, an e-mail campaign allegedly initiated by members of his own flock in India is making the rounds, including complaints of an "unapproachable, stubborn and arrogant style."

A recent book in Argentina alleges that Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was unacceptably close to the military junta that dominated that country in the 1970s; another e-mail campaign, this one claiming to originate with fellow Jesuits who knew Bergoglio back when he was the provincial of the order in Argentina, claims that "he never smiled."

In the last 48 hours, reports have surfaced that both Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and Cardinal Angelo Sodano, considered by some to be leading candidates, are in poor health, raising questions about their physical capacity to be pope.

No one really has the time to trace down all these rumors, and in a sense that’s the point. The hope is that the mere fact that negative things are being said, whether or not they turn out to be true, will be enough to derail a particular candidacy.

All of the cardinals subjected to these malicious rumors are leading conservatives except Sodano, a moderate who annoyed the "progressives" when he was the Vatican's chief diplomat by arguing that Pinochet should not be tried in Europe. It's funny that all of the smears are directed at enemies of the left.

Posted by Paul Jaminet at April 16, 2005 7:03 PM