The Parchment (39 page)

Chavez interrupted Barbo. “Why would such a thing be done?”

“Remember your New Testament, Ignacio.” All eyes were riveted on the secretary of state. “Herod Antipas had just beheaded John the Baptizer—if he had known that John had children, he would have killed them as well. John's followers falsified the census records to protect his family. Jesus was a cousin and one of John's earliest disciples. He agreed to substitute his name. I asked the Swiss Guard to place an ultraviolet light in my desk.” Barbo opened the drawer to his desk and removed a battery-driven light. “This ultraviolet light shows the forgery clearly. Anyone who wishes to see the proof may look for himself.”

Chavez took the light from Barbo and shone it on the parchment. “Yes, I see the name John.” Chavez handed the light to Cardinal Viaggio. “Chavez is right. The name John is under the name Jesus.”

Barbo walked over and pointed at Diefenbacher. “This census record is a forgery, Hans. Not only that, but you bought this document with Church money from an agent of the Mafia.”

Diefenbacher started to stand but fell back into his chair.

Barbo continued speaking. His booming voice filled the Sis-tine Chapel. “Your Eminence, when the conclave is over and the doors are reopened, Detective Cameri from the Rome police will wish to ask you some questions. I'm told there have been some suspicious money transfers from Church accounts in South Africa. Then there's the sudden death of an American professor in Gemelli Hospital. You'll have many questions to answer.”

Later, when the second vote of the morning was called, the scrutatores counted the number of submitted ballots. The count came up one ballot short. The third of the scrutatores, the Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Padrosa, rose to make the announcement. “The last vote is declared null and void. The ballots will be discarded. I would ask Your Eminences to vote again.”

When the ballots cast in the revote were counted, they matched the number of electors. After the scrutatores finished the tally, Cardinal Chavez had received sixty-one votes, Cardinal Barbo forty-one, Cardinal Calvaux eleven, and Cardinal McDermott nine. Diefenbacher received one vote. No one had obtained the necessary eighty-three-vote majority.

After this vote, Cardinal Marini gathered the used ballots from the two morning canvasses and put them in the stove. He lit a match and threw it on the paper ballots. When the camerlengo stood back from the flames, Cardinal Padrosa added the discarded ballots to the fire. “Agostino, you are the senior Cardinal Deacon, are you not?”

Marini nodded. “Yes, I am, Padrosa.”

“The Senior Deacon must announce the name of the new pope from the balcony of St. Peter's. You should be an international celebrity by nightfall.”

Marini smiled. “The choices have narrowed.”

Not wishing to be overheard, Padrosa whispered. “It will be Chavez or Barbo.”

“We'll see where the Holy Spirit takes us this afternoon, Padrosa. He can be full of surprises.”

As expected, a cry of disappointment rose from the crowd in St. Peter's Square as black smoke was seen coming from the chimney.

The first two ballots, however, did not surprise the Vatican pundits. The consensus was that the factions supporting Cardinals Chavez and Diefenbacher had each held firm during the morning counts. If the Chavez and Diefenbacher supporters could not convince more electors to vote for their candidate, however, the Sacred College would soon have to turn to someone else and that someone else would most likely be Francesco Barbo. The odds makers in the
Totopapa
seemed to agree. When two ballots had not produced a pope, they increased the odds of Barbo's winning from five to one to three to one, replacing Chavez as the frontrunner.

The secretary of state returned to his room in the Domus Sanc-tae Marthae after the morning ballots. It was clear that Diefenbacher's bid for the papacy had failed. Cardinal Chavez had gained sixteen votes on the second morning ballot, but clearly he was not going to attract the necessary two-thirds plus one majority. Barbo knew that he would start picking up substantial numbers of votes as cardinal electors began to look for a compromise candidate. He might be elected as soon as the first or the second afternoon ballot. One last time, Barbo asked himself if he wanted to be the next Vicar of Christ? He heard the inner voice say again: “Have the courage to trust in God. He wants you elsewhere than in Rome.” Barbo would read Pope Benedict's letter when the cardinal electors reconvened in the afternoon.

The news stations all filmed Cardinal Pierce's arrival from Melbourne at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. A black limousine bearing Vatican license plates drove him to the Apostolic Palace, where he was immediately admitted to the conclave. He would participate in the afternoon ballots.

A NEW P
NTIFF

W
HEN THE CARDINAL
electors had taken their seats for the afternoon balloting, Cardinal Barbo rose to speak. “The Apostolic Constitution that governs this meeting allows for a letter from a deceased pope to be read in conclave. Although the circumstances are different, I asked the camerlengo whether a letter from Pope Benedict could be read to his College of Cardinals. Cardinal Marini has given me his permission.”

Barbo unfolded a single sheet of white stationery. “My dear Brothers in Christ, the ways of God are mysterious. During my pontificate, I labored to bring peace to the Middle East. When I was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, I lost faith in the Lord. I despaired that he would let me continue my work to bring peace to the region. But I was wrong. He has answered my prayers in an unexpected way. My Alzheimer's disease has given me a new opportunity to work for peace in that sacred land. I wish to spend the rest of my days living in Jerusalem — in a new Center for Interreligious Studies. By living where Jesus died, I can be a witness to the love of God for the whole of humankind. God bless you all and God bless the new Holy Father.”

Barbo's voice cracked with emotion as he slumped back in his seat.

“My God, he'll be shot by some fanatic.” Cardinal Reysin exploded out of his chair. “This is the dumbest decision I've heard in a long time. Barbo, you're his friend. Convince Benedict that this is a crazy idea.”

“The pope is stubborn when he makes up his mind to do something.”

The Dean of the Sacred College, Cardinal Bargarian, rose to speak. “And what about his Alzheimer's? The progress of the
disease must be monitored carefully. What Benedict asks is simply impossible. It should not be allowed.”

“Cardinal Bargarian, I used the word
impossible
in front of Benedict. Do you know what he said? ‘
Impossible
is not a word in God's dictionary.’ The pope will not be dissuaded from what he wishes to do.”

Bargarian sat down. “Thank God the Israeli government will not let this happen. They don't want to be responsible for any harm that would come to him.”

Barbo paused for a moment before he stood up from his chair and walked to the center of the Sistine Chapel. “I have decided to withdraw my name as a candidate for the papacy.”

Stunned, the camerlengo, Cardinal Marini, fell back in his seat. He spoke but his words were barely audible. “Francesco, you must not do this. The Holy Spirit has begun to focus on you. With all due respect to my brother Cardinal Chavez, he will not be able to obtain the required eighty-three votes. You will be elected on the next ballot.”

Barbo looked affectionately at Cardinal Marini. “Agostino, there are times when you must put aside ambition and even the wishes of the Church. At moments like this you must walk humbly in the presence of God. Benedict has been my closest friend for forty years. Now he begins a new journey. Over the years, the pope spoke to me of his wish to build a Center for Interreligious Studies in Jerusalem, a place where scholars from all faiths, Eastern and Western alike, could work toward a better understanding of God in all his many faces. I have decided to go with Benedict to Jerusalem and help him build the center.”

Barbo stopped for a moment and tears welled up in his eyes. “I ask those who think me worthy to be the Supreme Pontiff of the Church to vote for My Lord Cardinal Calvaux, the Archbishop of Marseilles.”

When the first afternoon ballot was counted, Cardinal Calvaux received eighty-six votes — three more than the necessary two-thirds-plus-one majority required for election.

At 3:30 that afternoon, a plume of smoke rose from the chimney that jutted from the roof of the Sistine Chapel. At first it was unclear whether the smoke was black or white.

“Sfumata Bianca
!” “White smoke!” An old Italian woman began waving her arms as a sudden wave of excitement and anticipation rolled over St. Peter's Square. Tourists ran to get a place under the balcony of the basilica, where the new pope would make his first appearance. Word that the conclave had concluded spread swiftly through the streets of Rome. From all directions, Romans began to surge into St. Peter's Square. To those who lived in Rome, the pope was not just the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman Catholic Church; he was also the Bishop of Rome, their bishop. They hurried to the square to receive the first blessing from the man chosen to be their spiritual leader.

After an hour, the doors of the central balcony overlooking the entrance to the basilica were finally opened and cardinals, dressed in scarlet robes, walked out into the bright sunlight. Reporters noticed that Cardinal Diefenbacher did not appear on the balcony. Word immediately spread through the press corps that Diefenbacher was the new pope. Commentators speculated over the papal name he would choose.

When the camerlengo, Cardinal Marini, appeared on the balcony, there was a roar of approval from the thousands packed into St. Peter's Square. Marini stood in the bright sunshine savoring every minute of the suspense. Almost playfully, he adjusted the microphone several times and spoke briefly to one of the cardinals who stood next to him. Finally Cardinal Marini motioned with his two hands for the crowd to be silent.

“Annuntio Vobis Gaudium Magnum. Habemus Papam.”
The camerlengo spoke the age-old Latin words that announced to the City of Rome and to the world that a new pope had been selected. The crowd again roared with approval.

“His name is ... the Most Reverend Lord Cardinal....” The camerlengo paused for a moment; it was the last time he could drag out the suspense. “... Jean Calvaux de Montelambert, Archbishop of Marseilles. He has chosen for himself the name of Paul and will be called Pope Paul VII.”

As the camerlengo called out his name, the new pope dressed in a white cassock and zuchetto appeared on the balcony. Again the people roared. White and yellow Vatican flags appeared from nowhere and fluttered from windows throughout the square.

His eyes still squinting from the bright sunlight, Pope Paul motioned for the vast crowd to be silent. He lifted his arm to impart his first papal benediction. “
Urbi et Orbi
”—to the City and the World.
“In Nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti
”—the Latin words of the blessing echoed across St. Peters Square. When the blessing was over, the pope waved to the crowd and accepted their cheers. Finally, as the shouting subsided, Pope Paul left the balcony to accompany the members of the Sacred College into the basilica to attend a Mass of Thanksgiving. Overhead the bells of the city thundered, greeting the new Bishop of Rome.

It was already early evening as the Cardinal Secretary of State walked back to his apartment. Although exhausted, Barbo felt satisfied with the events of the day. Barbo was humbled that the Holy Spirit had chosen him to play so important a role in selecting Pope Paul. As for himself, he could look forward to Jerusalem and the new challenges it would bring to his life.

When he entered his apartment on Via Mascherino, Cardinal Barbo saw on his caller ID that Pietro Visconti had telephoned. Curiosity drove Barbo to return the call.

“Visconti, this is Cardinal Barbo.”

“Ah, Eminenza, I'm sorry you were not chosen, but there's so much excitement over the new pope. He's young and dynamic, much like John Kennedy when he was elected president of the United States.”

“I'm sure the reason for your call was not to express your sympathies.”

“No. It's to say goodbye. My clients think that my talents could be better utilized outside Italy, perhaps in Marseilles—particularly now....”

“What do you mean ‘particularly now?”’

“Nothing, Eminenza, I'm afraid I'm late. By the way, if you ever need to be in touch with my clients, please contact Signor Paolo Chiaramonte at his law office on Via Veneto.”

As he hung up the phone, Barbo sensed that visconti had regretted his reference to Marseilles. Why was that, he wondered. He recalled what Galliardin had said. If Barbo wished the votes of those cardinals beholden to the Mafia, he should submit a blank ballot on the first tally. There had been a blank ballot cast, but it was on the second tally. At the time, Barbo thought nothing of it. Now he wasn't so sure. Perhaps there was a connection between the blank ballot and Calvaux's election. Could Visconti's trip to Marseilles have something to do with the new pope?