Imperfect pasts to arise at conclave?

As cardinals begin process of electing new pope, hints and allegations reminiscent of a public election have mottled some candidates

BY CAROL EISENBERG AND MATTHEW MCALLESTER | STAFF CORRESPONDENTS

April 18, 2005

VATICAN CITY - It is not on the level of the Watergate break-in, exactly, but it's also not what you'd expect from an election said to be guided by God.

Stories about the dark pasts, secret illnesses and unbalanced personalities of purported papal candidates are suddenly rampant in the media here and elsewhere in Europe as the 115 red-capped men who will elect the world's 265th pope lock themselves into the Sistine Chapel today for secret deliberations and balloting.

Several reports, for instance, have re-examined Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's brief sojourns as a member of Hitler Youth and later as a soldier in a Nazi anti-aircraft unit before he deserted in April 1944, facets of his past that he has acknowledged. The powerful German theologian, who is considered a papal kingmaker, if not a candidate, has said that his family was anti-Nazi but that open resistance to Hitler's mandates was futile.

Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai, described as a possible long-shot candidate, has been the subject of an e-mail campaign, purportedly by members of his flock in India, complaining of an "unapproachable, stubborn and arrogant style." Dias has not commented on the reports directly but invited members of his Rome parish to a rare meet-and-greet session after Mass yesterday.

Then there's the story that Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, a rising star in the Latin American church, sheltered a priest who was a known child molester. Maradiaga has declined to comment on the report, based on a June 2004 story in the Dallas Morning News.

In addition, Italian media has named one cardinal, who appears on lists of papal contenders, as having been treated for depression, and two others as having vaguely described health problems that the reports said could interfere with their ability to lead the church.

To those who analyze the rarefied world of church politics, none of this is surprising, given the short and frenzied papal election cycle, which lasts, at most, a few weeks, too little time to separate fact from fiction and nail those who have been spreading false reports. Today, unlike in past run-ups to conclaves, the availability of Internet search engines allow partisans to turn up mud in an instant.

"People launch these rumors for the same reason that political advisers in the United States craft attack ads: because, like it or not, sometimes negative campaigning works," said John Allen, Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Reporter. "It should be emphasized that these smear campaigns originate outside the College of Cardinals, not inside, and that there is generally a very genteel, respectful tone to the discussions among the cardinals themselves."

At the same time, Allen acknowledged, the reports sometimes do influence cardinals' thinking. While many of the prelates already know each other, "sometimes just the hint of skeletons in the closet can be enough to cause them to think twice," he said.

On the other hand, the fact that many of the stories are clearly the work of partisans who are simply recycling slices of biography often mutes their impact.

Abraham Foxman, director of the Anti-Defamation League, was one of several Jewish leaders who appeared unfazed by the stories about Ratzinger's involvement in Hitler Youth at a time when such affiliation was mandatory.

"He hasn't hidden it," Foxman said. "It would be troubling if this man had not led the life that he's led. Everything that he's done in public life in recent years as cardinal is opposite of that youthful event and participation. There's no question that he has atoned time and time again for that period."

Special correspondent Stacy Meichtry contributed to this story.