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Irish Examiner
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Power games and back-stabbing: How true to life is hit movie 'Conclave'?
As the Vatican prepares for the secret meeting of cardinals who will pick a successor to Pope Francis, forget — to some extent — what you may have learned from Conclave, last year's hit movie depicting high-level power games and backstabbing among the red-robed clerics. The conclave of the so-called "Princes of the Church" that will elect a new pope is expected to start some time between May 6 and May 11. It will follow Francis' funeral on Saturday and wider consultations among cardinals, known as general congregations. The film, which won an Oscar in March for best adapted screenplay, is a faithful representation in terms of costumes and staging, but the blatant scheming and closing plot twist — which this article will not spoil — are too much, Church experts say. "Let's face it: Conclave, which takes us to the heart of one of the most mysterious and secret events in the world, is a highly entertaining film, especially for an easy-going American audience," the Italian bishops' newspaper, Avvenire, wrote in a December review. "But it is impossible not to smile at certain characters or situations that, especially in the eyes of Italian viewers, risk resembling involuntary parodies," it added. US Cardinal Sean O'Malley was scathing, saying in a February entry on his blog that the business of electing a pope is not "some sort of scene of political backroom plotting of how to get your candidate elected". O'Malley, a Franciscan friar who took part in the 2013 conclave that elected Francis, wrote: "Throughout the process, we had a very acute awareness that millions of Catholics around the world were praying for us so that the Holy Spirit would guide us in our deliberations." The word "conclave" comes from the Latin "cum clave" (with a key), referring to the Medieval practice of locking cardinals up in a room until they make a decision on a new pope. That is still essentially how it works today. Cardinals gathered inside the Sistine Chapel are banned from communicating with the outside world — no phones, television or internet — and are supposed to keep quiet about the election afterwards. But details, inevitably, filter through. Francis himself, in an interview book published last year, broke the confidentiality rule, and did admit there were some machinations. "Cardinals swear not to reveal what happens in the conclave, but popes have a licence to tell it," he told Spanish journalist Javier Martinez-Brocal. He said he was "used" in a failed attempt to block Benedict XVI, the 2005 frontrunner, with 40 out of 115 votes converging on him as cardinals behind the manoeuvre hoped this would pave the way for the emergence of another candidate. Benedict was duly elected, Francis said, after he told one of the would-be schemers: "Don't fool me with this candidacy, because right now I'm going to say I'm not going to accept, okay? Leave me out". Entertainment industry data firm Luminate reported US streaming viewership figures for 'Conclave' rose by 283% on Monday compared to the previous day. Francis said he personally voted for Benedict because the Church needed a "transition pope" after the long papacy of John Paul II. In 2013, Francis came up as a surprise candidate, after impressing peers with a speech on the need for church reform. This time around, there is no clear frontrunner, although bookmakers have named Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines, and Pietro Parolin, a compromise choice from Italy, as early favourites in the race. Robert Harris, author of the book on which the film Conclave is based, told the Boston Globe this week he had approached the conclave "purely from a secular point of view of someone who is interested in institutions, how they work, and the power plays within them". "These powerful figures are locked away in one of the most extraordinary artistic gems of the Renaissance. They're not allowed to speak to the outside world and they have to stay there for days until they get a two-thirds majority, and that is just the most wonderful drama in itself," he added. Conclave director Edward Berger said while the film was set in the Vatican, it could be about the power games that take place wherever there is a top job to fill. "And whenever that power vacuum exists, there's going to be people striving for it. There's going to be people fighting for it and stabbing each other in the back and trying to manipulate their way into this power," he told Reuters in November. Regardless of how much the book and film are fiction, interest in the story surged after Francis died on Monday. Entertainment industry data firm Luminate reported US streaming viewership figures for Conclave rose by 283% on Monday compared to the previous day.
New Straits Times
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
Forget the film: Vatican is preparing for the real 'Conclave'
AS the Vatican prepares for the secret meeting of cardinals who will pick a successor to Pope Francis, forget - to some extent - what you may have learned from "Conclave", last year's hit movie depicting high-level power games and backstabbing among the red-robed clerics. The conclave of the so-called "Princes of the Church" that will elect a new pope is expected to start some time between May 6 and May 11. It will follow Francis' funeral on Saturday and wider consultations among cardinals, known as general congregations. The film, which won an Oscar in March for best adapted screenplay, is a faithful representation in terms of costumes and staging, but the blatant scheming and closing plot twist - which this article will not spoil - are too much, Church experts say. "Let's face it: 'Conclave', which takes us to the heart of one of the most mysterious and secret events in the world, is a highly entertaining film, especially for an easy-going American audience," the Italian bishops' newspaper, Avvenire, wrote in a December review. "But it is impossible not to smile at certain characters or situations that, especially in the eyes of Italian viewers, risk resembling involuntary parodies," it added. US Cardinal Sean O'Malley was scathing, saying in a February entry on his blog that the business of electing a pope is not "some sort of scene of political backroom plotting of how to get your candidate elected." O'Malley, a Franciscan friar who took part in the 2013 conclave that elected Francis, wrote: "Throughout the process, we had a very acute awareness that millions of Catholics around the world were praying for us so that the Holy Spirit would guide us in our deliberations." The word "conclave" comes from the Latin "cum clave" (with a key), referring to the Medieval practice of locking cardinals up in a room until they make a decision on a new pope. That is still essentially how it works today. Cardinals gathered inside the Sistine Chapel are banned from communicating with the outside world - no phones, television or internet - and are supposed to keep quiet about the election afterwards. But details, inevitably, filter through. Francis himself, in an interview book published last year, broke the confidentiality rule, and did admit there were some machinations. pqc "Cardinals swear not to reveal what happens in the conclave, but popes have a licence to tell it," he told Spanish journalist Javier Martinez-Brocal. He said he was "used" in a failed attempt to block Benedict XVI, the 2005 frontrunner, with 40 out of 115 votes converging on him as cardinals behind the manoeuvre hoped this would pave the way for the emergence of another candidate. Benedict was duly elected, Francis said, after he told one of the would-be schemers: "Don't fool me with this candidacy, because right now I'm going to say I'm not going to accept, okay? Leave me out." Francis said he personally voted for Benedict because the Church needed a "transition pope" after the long papacy of John Paul II. In 2013, Francis came up as a surprise candidate, after impressing peers with a speech on the need for church reform. This time around, there is no clear frontrunner, although British bookmakers have named Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines, and Pietro Parolin, a compromise choice from Italy, as early favourites in the race. Robert Harris, author of the book on which the film "Conclave" is based, told The Boston Globe this week that he had approached the conclave "purely from a secular point of view of someone who is interested in institutions, how they work, and the power plays within them." "These powerful figures are locked away in one of the most extraordinary artistic gems of the Renaissance. They're not allowed to speak to the outside world and they have to stay there for days until they get a two-thirds majority, and that is just the most wonderful drama in itself," he added. "Conclave" director Edward Berger has said that while the film is set in the Vatican, it could be about the power games that take place wherever there is a top job to fill. "And whenever that power vacuum exists, there's going to be people striving for it. There's going to be people fighting for it and stabbing each other in the back and trying to manipulate their way into this power," he told Reuters in November. Regardless of how much the book and film are fiction, interest in the story surged after Francis died on Monday. Entertainment industry data firm Luminate reported that US streaming viewership figures for "Conclave" rose by 283 per cent on Monday compared to the previous day.
TimesLIVE
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- TimesLIVE
Forget the film: Vatican is preparing for the real ‘Conclave'
As the Vatican prepares for the secret meeting of cardinals who will pick a successor to Pope Francis, forget — to some extent — what you may have learnt from Conclave, last year's hit movie depicting high-level power games and backstabbing among the red-robed clerics. The conclave of the "Princes of the Church" that will elect a new pope is expected to start some time between May 6 and 11. It will follow Francis' funeral on Saturday and wider consultations among cardinals, known as general congregations. The film, which won an Oscar in March for best adapted screenplay, is a faithful representation in terms of costumes and staging, but the blatant scheming and closing plot twist, which this article will not spoil, are too much, church experts said. "Let's face it, Conclave, which takes us to the heart of one of the most mysterious and secret events in the world, is a highly entertaining film, specially for an easy-going American audience," the Italian bishops' newspaper, Avvenire, wrote in a December review. "But it is impossible not to smile at certain characters or situations that, specially in the eyes of Italian viewers, risk resembling involuntary parodies," it said.
AsiaOne
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
Forget the film: Vatican is preparing for the real Conclave, World News
VATICAN CITY - As the Vatican prepares for the secret meeting of cardinals who will pick a successor to Pope Francis, forget - to some extent - what you may have learned from Conclave, last year's hit movie depicting high-level power games and backstabbing among the red-robed clerics. The conclave of the so-called Princes of the Church that will elect a new pope is expected to start some time between May 6 and May 11. It will follow Francis' funeral on Saturday (April 26) and wider consultations among cardinals, known as general congregations. The film, which won an Oscar in March for best adapted screenplay, is a faithful representation in terms of costumes and staging, but the blatant scheming and closing plot twist - which this article will not spoil - are too much, Church experts say. "Let's face it: Conclave, which takes us to the heart of one of the most mysterious and secret events in the world, is a highly entertaining film, especially for an easy-going American audience," the Italian bishops' newspaper, Avvenire, wrote in a December review. "But it is impossible not to smile at certain characters or situations that, especially in the eyes of Italian viewers, risk resembling involuntary parodies," it added. US Cardinal Sean O'Malley was scathing, saying in a February entry on his blog that the business of electing a pope is not "some sort of scene of political backroom plotting of how to get your candidate elected". O'Malley, a Franciscan friar who took part in the 2013 conclave that elected Francis, wrote: "Throughout the process, we had a very acute awareness that millions of Catholics around the world were praying for us so that the Holy Spirit would guide us in our deliberations." Francis and his 'licence to tell' The word "conclave" comes from the Latin "cum clave" (with a key), referring to the Medieval practice of locking cardinals up in a room until they make a decision on a new pope. That is still essentially how it works today. Cardinals gathered inside the Sistine Chapel are banned from communicating with the outside world - no phones, television or internet - and are supposed to keep quiet about the election afterwards. But details, inevitably, filter through. Francis himself, in an interview book published last year, broke the confidentiality rule, and did admit there were some machinations. "Cardinals swear not to reveal what happens in the conclave, but popes have a licence to tell it," he told Spanish journalist Javier Martinez-Brocal. He said he was "used" in a failed attempt to block Benedict XVI, the 2005 frontrunner, with 40 out of 115 votes converging on him as cardinals behind the manoeuvre hoped this would pave the way for the emergence of another candidate. Benedict was duly elected, Francis said, after he told one of the would-be schemers: "Don't fool me with this candidacy, because right now I'm going to say I'm not going to accept, okay? Leave me out". Francis said he personally voted for Benedict because the Church needed a "transition pope" after the long papacy of John Paul II. In 2013, Francis came up as a surprise candidate, after impressing peers with a speech on the need for church reform. This time around, there is no clear frontrunner, although British bookmakers have named Luis Antonio Tagle, a reformer from the Philippines, and Pietro Parolin, a compromise choice from Italy, as early favourites in the race. Robert Harris, author of the book on which the film Conclave is based, told The Boston Globe this week that he had approached the conclave "purely from a secular point of view of someone who is interested in institutions, how they work, and the power plays within them". [[nid:717129]] "These powerful figures are locked away in one of the most extraordinary artistic gems of the Renaissance. They're not allowed to speak to the outside world and they have to stay there for days until they get a two-thirds majority, and that is just the most wonderful drama in itself," he added. Conclave director Edward Berger has said that while the film is set in the Vatican, it could be about the power games that take place wherever there is a top job to fill. "And whenever that power vacuum exists, there's going to be people striving for it. There's going to be people fighting for it and stabbing each other in the back and trying to manipulate their way into this power," he told Reuters in November. Regardless of how much the book and film are fiction, interest in the story surged after Francis died on Monday. Entertainment industry data firm Luminate reported that US streaming viewership figures for Conclave rose by 283 per cent on Monday compared to the previous day.
The Guardian
11-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Vatican seeks to debunk fake news on health of Pope Francis
While Pope Francis was being treated for double pneumonia, Italian TikToker Ottavo made his way unchallenged into a ward at Gemelli hospital in Rome, followed by a camera. His aim was to bolster a conspiracy theory circulating on social media for weeks: that the 88-year-old pontiff was dead 'and the Vatican refuses to tell us'. 'There's no security at all – nothing whatsoever,' he told his 10,000 followers in the video. 'I would never have been able to get this far if he were there. For that reason, in my opinion, Pope Francis passed away.' But Ottavo had overlooked one detail: the ward he infiltrated was not the one where Francis was being treated. Since the pontiff was hospitalised last month, the Vatican has been waging a quiet battle against the fake news, conspiracy theorists and AI-generated images circulating on social networks concerning his health – producing regular updates on his health and a voice message from his hospital bed. Before Ottavo, another TikToker, nicknamed Er Bombolino, had attempted to enter the hospital a few days earlier to prove that Francis was dead. He, too, ended up in the wrong ward. The pontiff has been treated at Gemelli hospital since 14 February . On 22 February, he suffered a 'prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis' and on 28 February had 'an isolated crisis of bronchospasm' – a tightening of the muscles that line the airways in the lungs Doctors on Monday said Francis was no longer in immediate danger and responding well to treatment in hospital, but fake news about his state of health continues to proliferate online. Some social media accounts have falsely announced his death four times since he arrived in hospital and thousands of fake photos have begun circulating on the web featuring Francis apparently in distress and dressed in a white cassock on a hospital bed with an oxygen mask on his face. Last Thursday, for the first time since he had been admitted to the hospital, the pope recorded and released an audio message thanking those who had been praying for his recovery, his voice breathless as he nears three weeks in hospital with pneumonia. Speaking in his native Spanish, Francis said in a message broadcast in St Peter's Square: 'I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the square, I accompany you from here.' . Media reports in Italy have suggested one of the objectives of the pope's audio was a response by the Vatican to fake news about the pontiff's death. Avvenire, a national daily newspaper affiliated with the Catholic church, wrote: 'The pope's audio message broadcast last night is the first evidence that debunks the insinuations. However, with his prolonged hospitalisation, there is a risk that the spread of fake news may widen.' The director of the Holy See Press Office told the Guardian on Tuesday: 'Fake news speaks for itself. We deliver our news with regularity and transparency. 'We said that with that audio the pope wanted to thank the faithful for their prayers in these weeks. If one of the goals of that audio was also to dismiss the fake news about his health, well – everyone is free to draw their own conclusions.' Police are also reportedly gathering information on disinformation and considering potential charges, though the interior ministry told the Guardian 'that no official investigation is under way at present'. TikTokers Ottavo and Er Bombolino in a joint Instagram video defended themselves against the accusations, saying: 'We are not conspiracy theorists. We are devoted to Pope Francis. We are only seeking the truth. Where is Pope Francis?' The Vatican had previously noted that the decision not to appear in video was made by Pope Francis himself. 'Everyone is free to choose how and when to be seen,' the Vatican Press Office said.
