Papal election in ‘Conclave’ is “very accurate”, say experts: “It gets a lot of details right”

Religious experts have praised the accuracy of the film Conclave, which dramatises the selection of a new Pope, just as the process is set to begin following the death of Pope Francis.

The former head of the Catholic Church passed away on the morning of April 21, aged 88. The official cause of death was a cerebral stroke, followed by “irreversible cardiocirculatory collapse”, according to a church statement.

Following a period of mourning, the process begins to find a new Pope. A papal conclave is where a secret gathering of The College Of Cardinals occurs. Cardinals from around the world go through a voting process which eventually results in the anointing of a new Pope, with the belief being that those voting are driven by the Holy Spirit.

The process was the subject of the recent film Conclave, released in UK cinemas last November. Ralph Fiennes stars as the dean of the college, who organises the voting and uncovers scandals among the candidates. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning for Best Adapted Screenplay.

With real-life events potentially mirroring the film, The Guardian sat down with religious academics to ask whether the film was an accurate portrayal of the real-life search for the new pontiff.

Kathleen Sprows Cummings, a historian of Catholicism at Notre Dame, said: “They got a lot of the details right… The movie did a really good job of balancing the human – people, men who are ambitious, who have very strong feelings about what the church needs”.

Bill Cavanaugh, a professor of Catholic Studies at DePaul University, agreed: “Certainly the mise-en-scene of the movie, they take pains to be very accurate on that.”

In terms of the specific details that were accurate, Cummings said the film “got a sense of the types of conversations that happen before a conclave,” explaining: “They’ll be having dinners, they’ll be gathering in apartments… There will be: ‘who’s supporting who? Is there a clear majority going in? Is there a clear front runner going in?’ That’s all happening.”

The divisive nature of the cardinals, who tended to fall to conservative and progressive, was described by Cavanaugh as “a little bit exaggerated”. “Cardinals don’t fall neatly into progressive and conservative camps,” he explained. “In general, it’s much more of a mixed bag.”

One character was pointed out to be innacurate: the pivotal role of Cardinal Benitez (Carlos Diehz), a Mexican candidate appointed in secret (“in pectore”) by the outgoing Pope prior to his death, who becomes more important as the film goes on.

“The idea that a cardinal in pectore could just like roll up to the conclave and say: ‘Hey, I’m here to vote’ – that actually could not happen,” explained Cummings. “A cardinal doesn’t get the privileges of being a cardinal until he’s publicly announced as such.”

Cavanaugh also described the film’s climactic twist, as well as a sequence where the Sistine Chapel is bombed, as “a little far-fetched”. However, he praised the ending’s themes, saying: “The idea that you never know exactly who you’re getting when you elect a Pope, I think it nails that.”

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