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According to an Italian newspaper, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was considered a strong contender for the papal throne, was persuaded by Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, to step down and ask his supporters to vote for Robert Francis Prevost of the United States, who is now known as Pope Leo XIV. Parolin decided to ask his supporters to back Prevost because of divisions among the Italian cardinals.
According to an article in La Stampa, on May 8, during a break in the conclave at the Casa Santa Marta, Péter Erdő reportedly told Cardinal Pietro Parolin:
Your Eminence, I and others would have voted for you, but your Italian brothers will not vote for you.”
The Italian newspaper’s information coincides with another press report: The New York Times also wrote after the papal election that Cardinal Parolin was forced to withdraw in no small part due to “division among Italians.”
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State of the Holy See, celebrates Mass in the Esztergom Basilica. Featured photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán
According to La Stampa, Vatican expert Marcello Sorgi also believes that Erdő’s statement was the turning point after which Parolin – who was otherwise the most likely Italian candidate – decided, due to divisions among the Italian cardinals, to ask his supporters to back Prevost, thereby securing the election of the new pope.
Via hirado.hu, La Stampa, The New York Times; Featured photo: MTI/Kovács Attila