The Secret Cardinal

13

‘Could I interest either of you gentlemen in a glass of wine?’ Donoher asked as he entered the catacombs workroom. ‘Our evening meal will arrive shortly.’

Grin glanced up from the bank of monitors, his eyes tired but bright. ‘I prefer to imbibe only among friends, and if that’s a bottle of Italian red I see in your hand, then you must be a friend.’

Kilkenny cleared a space on the worktable, and the cardinal set out three glasses and poured from a bottle of Castello di Fonterutoli Chianti Classico Riserva. The wine looked nearly black, and as Grin inhaled the bouquet, he detected traces of smoke, various fruits, licorice, and wood.

‘You’ve let this little fellow breath a bit,’ Grin said approvingly.

‘Admittedly, my years in Italy have had a modestly civilizing effect upon me,’ Donoher said.

Kilkenny held his glass for a moment and stared at what would be his first drink in a week, then realized that with one bottle split three ways, there was little chance of a hangover. Each man swirled the first sip around in his mouth, tickling his taste buds with the complex, delightful flavor.

‘So, where do we stand?’ Donoher asked.

‘Other than a few minor details, we’re ready to go,’ Kilkenny replied. ‘In fact, Grin came up with a name for our covert op.’

‘Did you now? Let’s hear it.’

‘Operation Rolling Stone,’ Grin announced.

Donoher turned to Kilkenny. ‘You mean to tell me you’ve christened our sacred mission after a hedonistic rock ‘n’ roll band?’

‘Actually, it’s an allusion to the stone that covered Christ’s tomb until it was rolled away on Easter morning,’ Grin explained. ‘Like Christ, Yin is entombed in Chifeng Prison, and we’re going to roll away the stone and let him out.’

‘Ah, a scriptural allusion,’ Donoher said skeptically.

‘Grin assures me the name has nothing to do with the several megs of Stones tunes packed into his iPod,’ Kilkenny offered.

‘Perish the thought.’ Donoher held his glass up. ‘Very well then. To the success of Operation Rolling Stone.’

‘Here, here,’ Kilkenny and Grin chimed in, tapping their glasses with Donoher’s.

Kilkenny savored the taste of the red wine and felt it working its magic. He and Grin had been working down in the catacombs almost nonstop since the Pope’s death, and he knew the same must be true for Donoher.

‘How’s it going up there?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘I am about where you would expect a man to be when he has to stage a state funeral and an election on a mere two-weeks notice, but I’ll muddle through. Despite the chaos, what you two are trying to accomplish is never far from my thoughts and prayers. God willing, you’ll finish the job before the white smoke rises.’

‘Speaking of the election,’ Grin said. ‘I’ve been trolling the Web, and Paddy Power is listing odds on the top cardinals. There are five in single digits.’

‘The papabili,’ Donoher said with an exaggerated Italian flourish. ‘It’s dangerous to be named a favorite going into a papal election. There’s an old saying that many a man has gone into conclave a Pope and come out a cardinal. You aren’t betting on this, I hope.’

‘I don’t gamble at all,’ Grin replied. ‘Throwing money away is not my idea of a good time.’

‘Is it a sin to bet on a papal election?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘No, but such a wager would be in extremely poor taste. Though were I a betting man, I believe my money would be safe in the top five. Any one of them would make a fine Pope.’

‘Who do you think has the best shot?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘Each papabili has his assets and liabilities. If you follow the conventional wisdom that the Church will not make two bold moves in a row, then Cardinal Magni is the clear favorite. He’s the only Italian among the papabili, so he can count on garnering seventeen percent of the vote straight away. He is also very conservative and well-liked by Opus Dei.’

‘Aren’t those the guys who got slammed in The Da Vinci Code?’ Grin asked.

Donoher nodded. ‘And at sixty-nine, his reign likely will not last as long as Pope Leo’s. Magni is a very safe choice. If the European cardinals don’t go for him, then they’ll likely support Ryff. He’s a well-respected moral theologian, a man cut from the same cloth as Pope Leo, which makes him a strong contender. He’s middle-European, which to some may make him seem a bit too much like Pope Leo, but the biggest knock against him is his age.’

‘Too old?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘Too young. He’s only fifty-seven and in very good health. A man like that could reign for a very long time indeed.’

‘What about the other three?’ Kilkenny asked.

‘Ah, that’s where things get interesting,’ Donoher said wryly. ‘The demographics of the Church have changed dramatically over the past century, and Leo’s selection of cardinals reflects this fundamental change. For the first time, cardinals from Third World countries have a real opportunity to win the papacy. Escalante from Honduras would be an exciting choice. Nice fellow, very media-savvy, and wonderful in front of a crowd. His election would be the most dramatic event in the history of Latin America since Columbus washed ashore. Then there’s Cardinal Velu from Bombay.’

‘India?’ Kilkenny said. ‘I didn’t know there were any Catholics there.’

‘Roughly twenty million, and the Church in India dates to the Apostle Thomas. Velu has also spent time in the Vatican ranks, so he’s well connected here. He’s a conservative theologian, fluent in more than a dozen languages, and has wonderful rapport in Africa and Southeast Asia. And he’s the right age — neither too old nor too young — but he’s so conservative that the moderate cardinals might have trouble voting for him.

‘Rounding out the papabili is Oromo from Sudan,’ Donoher continued, ‘a very bright fellow and well connected in the Islamic world. He arranged the first visit by a Pope to a mosque. Oromo’s election could do a lot of good in building bridges between the largely Judeo-Christian West and the Islamic nations of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Africa is also home to more than one hundred and twenty million Catholics, and one of the few places where priestly vocations are on the rise.’

‘What’s his downside?’ Grin asked.

‘That depends on the bloc of cardinals. To some, he’s more conservative then Velu. Others might object that the Catholic Church in Africa is too young, especially compared with the Church in Latin America. Sadly, there may even be some cardinals who will object to him because he’s black.’

‘A very un-Christian stance,’ Grin opined.

‘Certainly one that no cardinal will admit to publicly, but regrettably it’s still there. Given the needs of the Church at this moment in history, I pray the Holy Spirit will guide us past any impediments like prejudice to select the right man.’