Ah yes, exactly what I tell my boss when I do stupid stuff for fun

I mean, there are catholic priests and officials that are very liberal - they do exist. But those people do usually not even get into a position as a bishop, so they are not on the table to potentially become cardinals.

Vatican itself does not have much influence on this election. Francis was smart enough to appoints lots of bishops from “remote” regions like for example Mongolia or Pakistan, who have not been able to form political networks with each other and make it far more difficult for court intrigues to work out. Yes , the conclave surely will see those again, but there should be a counter weight at play here

You should know that lots of countries and societies will not do this. Especially in the global south.

There is a roman saying, “the one who enters conclave as the pope [to be] leaves it as a mere cardinal”

The catch is that he did not appoint by ideology. His appointments were mainly based on the guys doing work for poor people, for migrants, and on them doing their jobs in the global south.

Quite a few of these he made cardinals are somewhat conservative in their views, especially regarding sexuality

Bro you participate in the UK communities but dont know the BBC?