With the conclave, which elects the next pope, scheduled to begin on the 7th of next month, it appears that a public relations campaign has started within the Catholic community to elect conservative candidates as pope. This is interpreted as an attempt to revert the Catholic Church, which showed progressive tendencies during Pope Francis' tenure, back to a conservative stance.
On the 29th (local time), The Washington Post (WP) reported, "Immediately after the announcement of Pope Francis' death, movements supporting conservative candidates began from certain factions." It explained that through social media memes and citations from commentators, expectations were formed that the next pope would be a true conservative and one of the factions opposing Pope Francis.
On the day of Pope Francis' death, the 21st, far-right influencer IAAN Miles Chung posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Meet Cardinal Robert Sarah, a candidate for the next pope," stating, "He is conservative, respects life, and opposes 'woke'." Cardinal Sarah is a representative conservative cardinal from Guinea.
British media Daily Mail introduced Raymond Leo Burke as a strong candidate for pope, stating, "The conservative bishop of Wisconsin could become the first pope from the U.S." Cardinal Burke has been noted as a representative 'anti-Francis' figure for his intense criticism of Pope Francis' policies on LGBTQ inclusion, theology, and interpretations of canon law.
Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider from Kazakhstan stated in an open letter, "I do not support a materialistic and morally corrupt anti-Christian agenda and desire a leader who can uphold the Church's orthodoxy," adding, "I pray for the miracle of a new pope who is completely Catholic, completely apostolic, and completely Roman, as do all true believers."
Attempts to elect a conservative pope stand out particularly among U.S. believers. On the 28th, British daily The Guardian reported, "It seems that America's 'anti-reform' forces are booking plane tickets to Rome, sending sudden dinner invitations to cardinals, and making international phone calls." There are also assessments that the attendance of U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife at the pope's funeral on the 26th is in a similar context.
Attempts to undermine progressive cardinals are also emerging. According to WP, a 2019 video of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of the Philippines singing John Lennon’s "Imagine" went viral on social media, leading to claims that Tagle is inappropriate as a papal candidate due to the lyrics of that song. Cardinal Tagle has criticized the Catholic Church's attitudes towards LGBTQ individuals, single mothers, and divorced and remarried believers.
In the Catholic community, the prevailing outlook is that the public relations campaign to establish a conservative pope will have no effect. A senior Vatican official, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained the internal discussions, saying, "In the hearts of the majority of cardinals, there is no place for Burke and Sarah. They have no chance of becoming pope at all."
Father Thomas Reese, an American priest who has written several books about Catholicism, noted, "About 80% of the current cardinals have been appointed by Pope Francis," adding, "There is no way they will elect someone who can argue that Pope Francis' papacy was a disaster and that Catholicism is returning to the old Church."