Chapter 43 Chapter Forty-Two
Cardinal Mortati was wearing a black robe, dripping with sweat.Not only because the Sistine Chapel was hot as a sauna, but also because the conclave was due in twenty minutes and there was still no news of the four missing cardinals.The other cardinals, who at first had whispered anxiously about their absence, now spoke aloud with anxiety.
Mortati could not imagine where these derelicts could go.Maybe still with the Pope's chamberlain?He knew that the Pope's chamberlain had summoned the four bishop candidates for the traditional secret tea earlier in the afternoon, but that had been hours ago.Are they sick?What did you eat?Mortati mused, but they should be here even if they were dying.A cardinal is elected Pope of Rome, such an opportunity is only once in a lifetime, usually never, and according to Vatican law, the cardinal must stay in the Sistine Chapel when voting, otherwise he will not be eligible to vote .
Although there are four bishop candidates, almost all cardinals have a clear idea of who will become pope.For the past fifteen days, they've had a continual stream of faxes and phone calls discussing potential candidates.Traditionally, four people were chosen as bishop candidates, each of whom fulfilled the unwritten criteria necessary to be pope:
Multilingual: Italian, Spanish, and English.
clean reputation.
Aged between sixty-five and eighty.
As usual, one of the bishop candidates has been chosen for the College of Cardinals.That person tonight is none other than Cardinal Aldo Bagle of Milan.Bagger's impeccable record as a deacon, his incomparable language skills and his excellent ability to communicate with the essence of spiritual things make him an undisputed candidate for bishop.
Where is he then?Mortati thought.
The news of the cardinal's disappearance made Mortati especially alarmed, since it fell to him to oversee the conclave.A week earlier, the college of cardinals had unanimously picked Mortati to be elector — the internal master of ceremonies for the conclave.Although the Pope's chamberlain is the senior official of the church, he is only a priest after all, and he knows little about the complicated election process, so a cardinal must be elected from the Sistine Chapel to oversee the ceremony.
Cardinals often joked that being appointed Elector was the cruelest honor in Christendom, since no one was eligible for candidature and the elected had to spend days studying the Pope's Election Law, studying the arcane details of secret meetings to ensure that elections are properly conducted.
Mortati, however, has no complaints.He knew that his election was a matter of course.Not only was he a high bishop, but he was also the henchman of the previous pope, which boosted his prestige.Although Mortati is still within the legal age for elections in principle, he is still a bit old for a serious candidate.At seventy-nine, he had crossed the unspoken threshold that the Electoral College did not believe was a body capable of withstanding the rigors of the Pope's schedule.A pope often works fourteen hours a day, seven days a week without rest, and finally dies of exhaustion, with an average working life of only 6.3 years.There is a joke in the circle that accepting the Pope is a cardinal's "short route to heaven".
Many believe that Mortati would have been pope in his youth if he had been less stoic and generous.When it came time for him to fight for the Pope, there it was again—conservative, conservative, conservative.
Mortati was always amused and offended by the ex-pope, may God rest his soul, who had shown astonishing generosity as soon as he took office.Perhaps aware that the development of modern society has deviated from the direction of the church, the Pope proposed a proposal to reduce the influence of the church in the scientific community, and even selectively donated to scientific causes.Sadly, this became a kind of political suicide.Conservative Catholics declared that the Pope was "demented," while orthodox scientists accused him of wanting to extend the Church's influence where it did not belong.
"Then where are they?"
Mortati turned his head to look.
A cardinal tapped him nervously on the shoulder. "You know where they are, don't you?"
Mortati tried not to show too much anxiety. "Perhaps still with the Pope's chamberlain."
"At this time? That's too inappropriate!" The cardinal frowned suspiciously, "Could it be that the Pope's servant has lost the sense of time?"
Mortati was indeed suspicious, but he didn't say anything.He knew very well that most cardinals didn't like the Pope's chamberlain very much, and they thought he was too young for the Pope's valet.However, Moltati guessed that the cardinal's dislike was mostly due to jealousy, but Moltati really admired the young man, and secretly applauded the former Pope for choosing him as the Pope's servant.When Mortati looked into the eyes of the pope's chamberlain, he saw nothing but determination, and, unlike many cardinals, he put church and religion above petty politics.He is a true believer.
The fidelity and devotion of the Pope's chamberlain during his tenure have become legendary.Not a few put it down to that miraculous incident that happened to him as a child... an incident that would leave an indelible mark on anyone's heart.Amazing, amazing, Mortati thought, wishing that something had happened in his childhood that would have fostered that unwavering faith.
Mortati knew, however, that it was a misfortune for the Church that the papal chamberlain would never be pope even in old age.Being Pope required considerable political ambition, which was conspicuously lacking in the young Pope's chamberlain; he had repeatedly rejected the Pope's offer of a higher priesthood, saying he would rather serve the Church as an ordinary man.
"What should we do next?" The cardinal patted Mortati, waiting for his answer.
Mortati raised his head, "What?"
"They're late! What shall we do!"
"What shall we do?" Moltati replied: "Wait, I believe they will come."
The cardinal seemed extremely dissatisfied with Mortati's answer, and he retreated into the shadows.
Mortati stood for a while, gently pressing his temples, trying to clear his mind.Yeah, what do we do now?He looked up from the altar, gazing at Michelangelo's famous fresco: The Last Judgment.Yet the painting did nothing to ease his anxiety.This is a horrific, fifty-foot-tall mural depicting Jesus Christ dividing human beings into righteous and sinful categories, and casting sinners into hell.On the screen, some people were skinned alive, some were burned in flames, and even Michelangelo's enemy fell into hell, and his ears had turned into donkey ears.Guy de Maupassant wrote that the fresco was the graffiti of a gladiatorial arena by an uneducated coal worker.
Cardinal Mortati had to agree with this view.
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