{"id":2644,"date":"2013-03-16T19:02:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-16T19:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/wikileaks-shows-us-vatican-embassy-profiled-pope-francis-in-2005\/"},"modified":"2013-03-16T19:02:00","modified_gmt":"2013-03-16T19:02:00","slug":"wikileaks-shows-us-vatican-embassy-profiled-pope-francis-in-2005","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2013\/03\/wikileaks-shows-us-vatican-embassy-profiled-pope-francis-in-2005\/","title":{"rendered":"Wikileaks shows US Vatican embassy profiled Pope Francis in 2005"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Vatican City, Mar 16, 2013 \/ 01:02 pm (CNA<\/a>).- Leaked U.S. State Department cables published by Wikileaks show that the U.S. Vatican Embassy saw the future Pope Francis as a contender for the papacy in the 2005 conclave, reporting him to be a \u201cwise pastor\u201d who could appeal to allies of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.<\/p>\n

\tSix cables mention Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires who became Pope Francis on March 13. One of the unclassified cables, dated April 18, 2005, includes a detailed profile that examined the Argentine cardinal as a possible successor to Pope John Paul II.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBergoglio exemplifies the virtues of the wise pastor that many electors value,\u201d said the cable authored by the U.S. Embassy to the Vatican. \u201cObservers have praised his humility: he has been reluctant to accept honors or hold high office and commutes to work on a bus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe cable was signed by the U.S. embassy\u2019s then-Charge d\u2019Affaires D. Brent Hardt and was sent the day the 2005 conclave began. It discussed the future Pope Francis as one of 16 possible candidates.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cBergoglio is said to prefer life in the local Church as opposed to a bureaucratic existence in Rome\u2019s ecclesiastical structures, but at the same time he has been willing to serve on the Vatican's various supervisory committees,\u201d the cable continued.<\/p>\n

\tThe embassy analysis said this preference indicated the cardinal could bridge what it characterized as a \u201cdivide\u201d between the curia and the cardinal archbishops of local Catholic churches. In the embassy\u2019s view, this made Cardinal Bergoglio \u201ca good compromise candidate\u201d for voting cardinals.<\/p>\n

\tThe embassy said the cardinal\u2019s membership in the Jesuit order \u201ccould count against him,\u201d citing some senior prelates who are \u201csuspicious of a liberal streak in the order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tThe embassy analysis said Cardinal Bergoglio, along with Cardinals Ruini and Scola, would be \u201csuitable to the Ratzinger camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tLike most observers, the embassy incorrectly believed there was not enough conclave support for Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who would be elected Pope Benedict XVI on April 19, 2005.<\/p>\n

\tIn late 2010 the whistleblower website Wikileaks published about 250,000 leaked State Department cables as part of its \u201cCablegate\u201d project. Hundreds of the cables touched on Catholic issues, including 700 cables originating from the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.<\/p>\n

\tCatholic News Agency published multiple in-depth reports on the documents from late 2010 through September 2011.<\/p>\n

\tCardinal Bergoglio is mentioned by name in a total of eight State Department cables in the Cablegate archive, which does not contain all State Department communications from 2010 and earlier.<\/p>\n

\tSeveral of the cables concern the Catholic Church\u2019s sometimes tense relationship with the Argentine government, especially with current President Cristina Kirchner and her predecessor and late husband President Nestor Kirchner.<\/p>\n

\tAn Oct. 11, 2007 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires said that some observers consider Cardinal Bergoglio to be \u201ca leader of the opposition\u201d to the administration of President Nestor Kirchner.<\/p>\n

\tThe cable suggested that the conviction of the Catholic priest Christian Von Wernich for his role as an accomplice in murder, torture and illegal imprisonment during Argentina\u2019s \u201cDirty War\u201d would be used to undermine the moral authority of the Catholic Church and the cardinal.<\/p>\n

\tOne confidential cable sent in January 2010 mentioned Cardinal Bergoglio in the context of U.S. Ambassador to Argentina Vilma Martinez\u2019s meeting with Gabriela Michetti. Michetti is a former vice-mayor of Buenos Aires who presently sits in the lower chamber of Argentina\u2019s legislature as a national deputy from Argentina's center-right Republican Proposal (PRO) party.<\/p>\n

\tThe cable said Michetti maintained \u201cregular dialogue\u201d with Cardinal Bergoglio and other Catholic groups.<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Vatican City, Mar 16, 2013 \/ 01:02 pm (CNA).- Leaked U.S. State Department cables published by Wikileaks show that the U.S. Vatican Embassy saw the future Pope Francis as a contender for the papacy in the 2005 conclave, reporting him to be a “wis…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vatican"],"yoast_head":"\nWikileaks shows US Vatican embassy profiled Pope Francis in 2005<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Vatican City, Mar 16, 2013 \/ 01:02 pm (CNA).- Leaked U.S. State Department cables published by Wikileaks show that the U.S. Vatican Embassy saw the future Pope Francis as a contender for the papacy in the 2005 conclave, reporting him to be a “wis...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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