There were none.
‘If there are no objections,’ Scheuermann continued, ‘I suggest that we now hear the message.’
Several heads nodded in assent. All participants wanted to hear what the late pontiff had to say to them.
Donoher unlocked the side entry and waved a waiting pair of technicians into the chapel. The men rolled in a cart of equipment and quickly erected a large projection screen near the altar. Those cardinals seated at the far end of the chapel moved forward down the center aisle for a better view. When the technicians completed their work, Donoher escorted them out of the chapel and barred the door.
The screen displayed a blue test image from the portable DVD player. Donoher retrieved the disk Sikora gave him just before the opening session and set it into the player. The screen filled with the image of Pope Leo XIV seated in his chair in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel and dressed in formal papal attire.
Greetings, my brothers in Christ. By now the time of mourning is over and the Church awaits a new dawn. Like the Easter season, this is a time of renewal. I pray for you all, and that the Holy Spirit will guide your deliberations. I created many cardinals during my long reign, nearly all of those present at this conclave. But one cardinal I created is not among you because I have held his name in my heart, and with my death he is no longer a cardinal.
It is for this man that I have taken the unusual step of preparing this message for you. Some of you may already have guessed that I speak of Bishop Yin Daoming of Shanghai, who has endured nearly three decades of incarceration in the People’s Republic of China. Yin’s crime, for which he has suffered greatly, is his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his unwavering loyalty to the Roman Catholic Church. We are all called to lead by example, and Yin’s example has inspired many in China into religious life at great peril, and sustained millions of the faithful against brutal repression. There is much we all could learn from such a man.
I named Bishop Yin a cardinal in pectore in the second consistory of my pontificate. Through these long years, the Holy See has pursued every diplomatic avenue available to secure his freedom. Sadly, these efforts have borne no fruit. You are seeing this message today because I am dead and Bishop Yin is not among you. Though my successor is not bound in any way by this request, I pray that he, too, will find Yin Daoming deserving of a place in his heart.
At that moment, it seemed to Donoher the Pope was staring directly at him from the screen, and there was a twinkle in the pontiff’s eyes.
Of course, my request assumes Bishop Yin is still in China. If the Camerlengo is the kind of man I believe him to be, an extraordinary effort to secure Yin’s freedom is already under way. And if, by the grace of God, Yin Daoming is freed before the election of the new Pope, I pray with all my heart that you will give him the same consideration for the papacy as you would any member of the College of Cardinals, for under different circumstances he would be among you now.
I have chosen to speak to you about Bishop Yin in conclave so that my words will be protected by the oath that you all have just sworn. May you all discharge your duties as cardinal electors faithfully for the good of the universal Church.
21
‘Is this true?’
A cardinal fired the first question at Donoher before the image of Pope Leo XIV faded from the screen, and dozens more followed as a tide of confused voices surged within the chapel. The decorum observed in such solemn proceedings evaporated, lost in the bewilderment stirred up by the late pontiff’s recorded address. Among the most surprised by what he had heard was the Camerlengo himself.
‘What did His Holiness mean by an extraordinary effort?’ one voice demanded.
‘Is something afoot that we should know about?’ another inquired gravely.
Donoher caught only fragments of the barrage, his mind wrestling with questions of his own.
‘My Lords, please return to your seats,’ a stern voice thundered above the din. It was Scheuermann.
‘My Lords, if you will all return to your seats,’ Scheuermann continued, now that he had their attention, ‘I am certain the Esteemed Cardinal Donoher will enlighten us.’
As the cardinals settled down, Donoher moved to the center of the chapel. All eyes were fixed on him, and it seemed even God himself, swirling in the frescoed heavens above, had stopped His labors to hear the Camerlengo’s response.
‘My Most Esteemed Lord Cardinals,’ Donoher began, ‘it has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV. One of the goals of his illustrious reign, an aim sadly unmet, was to restore the freedom that was wrongly taken from our brother in Christ, Yin Daoming.
‘Those of us who hail from Western nations know little of grave suffering. Our pastoral lives are spent administering well-established dioceses, and our greatest challenge seems to be in creating a sense of relevance for the Church in an increasingly secular and ambivalent world.
‘The cardinals of the Third World have a better sense of true suffering. Their flocks are in pain because of punishing debt brought on by corrupt governments; incessant warfare based on racial, tribal, and religious differences; and the ever-looming specter of disease and famine.
‘But despite our troubles, great or small, we are all here in this ornate chapel, and Yin Daoming is not. Like Peter, Yin tends a flock that lives each day under the constant shadow of officially sanctioned persecution. As cardinals, we wear scarlet to symbolize our willingness to shed our blood for the Church, to die for our faith. His Holiness held Yin a cardinal in his heart for more than twenty years because this man’s blood has been shed for the faith on numerous occasions. Yin has earned the right to wear this color.
‘With the failure of diplomacy and the intuition that his reign was drawing to a close, His Holiness charged me with finding another way to free Bishop Yin. A way was found that met with the late Pope’s approval, and his assessment of me was correct. As Camerlengo of the Holy See,’ Donoher concluded, ‘I authorized the effort currently under way to bring Yin Daoming out of China.’
‘Is that wise?’ Cardinal Enright of Chicago asked, breaking the silence that followed the Camerlengo’s statement.
‘I think it is wiser to confront evil than to sit back and hope it simply goes away. China’s rulers fear Yin, and they will never release him.’
‘Does this action exceed the Camerlengo’s authority?’ asked Cardinal Miralles of Spain, his question directed at the cardinal dean.
‘The Camerlengo is entrusted with all the temporal power of the Holy See during the interregnum,’ Scheuermann replied. ‘But article seventeen of the Apostolic Constitution does, in fact, require the Camerlengo to act with the help of the three cardinal assistants and to seek the views of the college in serious matters. Clearly, my Esteemed Lord Donoher, breaking a man out of a foreign prison is a serious matter.’
‘I acted in a manner consistent with the stated wishes of His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV. This matter was merely unfinished business.’
‘Perhaps this unfinished business could have waited until after the election?’ Scheuermann asked.
‘As evident from the message we all just saw, His Holiness believed otherwise.’
‘But why act now?’ called out Cardinal Drolet of Paris.
‘Because it is a sin not to act when you know it is the right thing to do, and the opportunity we have now may not exist in the future. The Chinese government, which thinks little of the Holy See in normal circumstances, would never expect us to act in such a way when we are leaderless. That said, the final decision to act was mine, and I alone will bear responsibility for the consequences.’