Adrian D'Hage - The Omega scroll

As soon as the Vatican announced the death of Pope John Paul II, Tom applied to cover the proceedings from Rome. The day after the biggest funeral the world had ever witnessed, a weary Tom Schweiker prepared once again for another live cross.

‘We cross live to Rome and to Tom Schweiker for his thoughts on the Papal conclave to elect a successor to the third longest reigning Pontiff in the history of the Papacy.’

‘Good evening, Geraldine. It has been a long reign, although not without controversy. The media coverage of the Pope’s death has been full of praise for this Pope and until now, very few journalists have been prepared to air any grievances.’

‘A dark side, Tom?’

Tom nodded. ‘I think so. During the nine days of mourning for this Pope, sixty thousand Africans will die of AIDS under a Papacy that has been promoting the absurd notion that condoms cause the disease. That’s over six and a half thousand people dying every day, so you can imagine what some of the medical teams struggling with the disease think of that piece of dogma.’

‘And celibacy has been another issue?’

‘Very much so. Particularly when for the first thousand years of this Church, Catholic priests were happily married. And of course,’ Tom added, struggling to keep the bitterness from his voice, ‘this Pope did very little to strike at the cancer of paedophilia in the ranks of the priesthood. It was only when the media coverage of the abuse of children in Boston reached a crescendo that anything was done. Even then, the cardinal who was forced to step down was given a senior appointment and a spacious apartment here in Rome, and was a celebrant at one of the Masses for the dead Pope, so it’s hard to believe that the Vatican is very much bothered by paedophilia.’

‘Is that likely to change with the next Pope, Tom?’

‘Given that this Pope has appointed far more cardinals than any of his predecessors, there are many who are suggesting that the next Pope will be a cardinal in his likeness, perhaps even more conservative.’

‘An Italian?’

‘That’s hard to predict, although certainly one of the frontrunners is the present Cardinal Secretary of State, Lorenzo Petroni. A hard-line conservative and no great fan of Vatican II.’

‘Does he have the numbers, Tom?’

‘The doctrine maintains that it is the Holy Spirit rather than the College of Cardinals that makes the selection. There are 194 cardinals, of whom only 117 are under eighty and therefore eligible to vote. Of the 117 there are only twenty-three Italian cardinals. For an Italian to be elected he would have to carry a sizeable number of those and the rest of the European bloc, as well as two other blocs, such as Africa or Central or South America. During a conclave no cardinal is allowed to leave or have any communication with the outside world, and all telephones are disconnected except for one in the Camerlengo’s room that can be used for emergencies. Even the windows are sealed.’

‘Any “dark horses” in the field, Tom?’

‘There are those who are saying it is time we had a Pope from one of the Third World countries and there are one or two outstanding candidates, although they will probably be blocked by the conservatives. There is another Italian whose name might surface, Giovanni Donelli, the present Patriarch of Venice. He is very progressive and would appeal to the liberals but the conservatives are likely to oppose him strongly.’

‘And if they can’t agree?’

‘That’s happened before, but before he died, Pope John Paul II introduced a new rule. If no candidate can achieve two-thirds of the votes, and if they can hold out until the thirtieth vote, then a candidate can be elected on a simple majority.’

‘That was Tom Schweiker reporting on the Papal conclave in Rome. Now to the news at home…’

Lorenzo Petroni was hosting a lavish reception for the Italian and African blocs in his sumptuous apartment across the Tiber, the third such reception in as many nights. His plans were going well. With the final copy of the Omega Scroll locked safely in a special compartment of the Secret Archives, or so he thought, and Felici still confident that eventually both the woman and the journalist could be eliminated, Petroni was basking in the glow of his impending power. Even though Donelli had survived the bomb blast in Jerusalem, Petroni was confident that with the help of the Knight of Malta in New York, the Keys to Peter were his; and once he had them in his pocket, that would put an end to any investigation into the Vatican Bank. It would be the old cardinals’ turn tomorrow night. Petroni would use the gathering to recognise the octogenarians’ unique contribution to the Holy Church. Flattery was always so useful.

‘Of course the Pope’s new rules on voting give rise to some interesting possibilities, Agostino,’ Petroni offered smoothly, addressing his remarks to Cardinal da Silva of Luanda.

‘Do you have a candidate in mind, Lorenzo?’

‘Someone strong, Agostino, and although there are many good African candidates, the time for that is probably next time around. But we do need a candidate who can promote the cause of the Church in Africa and he will need a good Secretary of State. Someone like you, Agostino. Champagne?’ Lorenzo Petroni squeezed Cardinal da Silva’s hand and moved on to his next guest, Cardinal Fiorelli from the Italian bloc.

‘Vittorio, how good to see you again. Come stai?’

‘ Molto bene, grazie. Who do you favour, Lorenzo?’ Vittorio asked, more comfortable with the politics of a conclave.

‘We shouldn’t speculate, and Il Papa has done a wonderful job, but it would be good to see another Italian looking after the Church. Someone who can reinforce the tried and tested values.’

Cardinal Fiorelli smiled. ‘Who did you have in mind, Lorenzo?’

‘No one in particular, but whoever is chosen should have someone like you as his Secretary of State, Vittorio. It is a difficult appointment and there are not many who have your skills. Champagne?’

As the sun set over the Tiber, and Giovanni strolled in the Vatican gardens, conversing with the Holy Spirit, Cardinal Petroni moved on to his next guest, the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris. ‘Of course the Pope’s new rules Jean-Pierre…’

New York

‘One minute, Geraldine.’

The CCN anchor adjusted her posture and took a sip of water. To her surprise she looked up to find Daniel Kirkpatrick striding towards the news desk. The brief was headed ‘Breaking news from Rome’.

‘We can’t run that, Daniel!’ Geraldine hissed. ‘The day before the conclave!’

‘Twenty seconds, Geraldine.’

‘We can, and we will,’ Daniel Kirkpatrick said frostily. ‘Those decisions are not yours to make, unless you would like me to find a replacement to read the next bulletin. And every subsequent bulletin after that?’

‘Ten seconds… and live…’

At the end of the bulletin Geraldine turned to Camera Three and summoned every bit of professionalism she could muster.

‘The Vatican has announced an investigation into the Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Giovanni Donelli, over his remarks at the aborted peace ceremony in Jerusalem and an address he gave on religion and science in which he questioned the Catholic doctrine on creation. Cardinal Donelli has been seen by some as a possible contender for the Papacy, at this week’s conclave in Rome. A spokesman for the Vatican said it would be inappropriate to comment on the investigation in any detail until after it has been completed. Cardinal Donelli’s assertions that the promises given by Abraham might have been fulfilled by Muhammad as well as Christ were described by the Vatican spokesman as “unhelpful”. It is understood that Donelli has also been widely criticised within the Church over his challenge to the Bible with the notion that life began as bacteria beneath the sea. There will be another news update in an hour.’ Geraldine smiled, but only until the red light on Camera Three had gone off.