Curial game is revealed again: the Pro Eligendo Pontifice Mass as a pro-Parolin campaign event.

At the solemn Mass for the Electing Pontiff, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, Giovanni Battista Re, made it clear which side the Curial apparatus is on. His attitude, as calculated as it was eloquent, was a coded message to the entire College of Cardinals and the world: the Curia's party is closing ranks around its leader, Cardinal Parolin, and is ready to turn the page as soon as possible on Francis's pontificate. A pontificate they want to turn into a parenthesis or a spring that never materializes.

First, the gesture: in the embrace of peace, Re approached Parolin and whispered in his ear "auguri doppi" ("double spirits"), an expression that in the Vatican context lent itself to all sorts of interpretations. It was not a simple fraternal greeting, but a public and shameless nod to the Curia's favorite candidate in his dual role as director of the conclave and papal prime minister. A full-blown endorsement under the watchful eyes of voters and the media.

Second, the silence: in his homily, Re did not once mention Pope Francis, the recently deceased pontiff whose legacy should be, for justice and memory, the starting point for any ecclesial reflection at this historic moment.

Instead, he cited Paul VI and John Paul II, and spoke of "unity" and "communion," but without a word about the synodal process, the Church of the poor, or the reforms that have marked the last decade. The message (in the doublespeak of diplomacy and the curial) was clear: we must turn the page, bury Francis and his ecclesial springtime as soon as possible, and return to the order and control we have always had.

Re, who at Francis's funeral claimed Bergoglio's legacy, has now removed his mask and become the standard-bearer for restoration. His homily was the roadmap for the Curial party: close ranks, strengthen the apparatus, and back Parolin, the chief diplomat, the man of the elite and the status quo. A Pope for the Curia, not for the people of God. Or, in any case, a Gattopardist Pope - (a reference to the great Italian novel, The Leopard about decaying aristocracy).

But the move could backfire on the curial apparatus. The Dean's audacity has exposed the Curia's cards and made it clear to the other cardinals that Parolin and his party do not want to follow the processes initiated by Francis. Thus, Parolin will only be able to fish for votes among the most conservative, but he will hardly win them from the Bergoglian majority, which seeks continuity and no turning back. 

In this scenario, the beneficiary could be a synthetic candidate, such as Robert F. Prevost, who represents a middle ground, capable of building bridges between blocs and ensuring continuity without ruptures or nostalgia.

Furthermore, in the Pro Eligendo Pontifice Mass, Cardinal Re insisted on the need for "unity" and "communion" for the Church. But was there no communion with Francis? Is unity broken, or rather, was what Francis sought a deeper unity: unity in diversity, the symphonic harmony of the distinct charisms and sensibilities of the People of God?

Re's insistence on "unity" seems to suggest that Francis's pontificate has fractured ecclesial communion, when in reality Francis always defended a plural Church, where diversity is richness and the Holy Spirit unites in difference. As he himself proclaimed, unity is not uniformity, but communion in diversity, like an orchestra in which each instrument contributes its voice to achieve the symphony of the Gospel.

Therefore, appealing to "unity" as if it needed to be restored after Francis is to distort his legacy. The Argentine Pope did not break communion, but rather deepened it, making the Church a home open to all, where harmony arises precisely from respect and the integration of all voices and charisms. True unity, the one fostered by the Spirit, is not that of forced silence or single-mindedness, but rather that of reconciled and fruitful diversity.

The Pro Eligendo Pontifice Mass, which was supposed to be an act of communion and prayer, has become a campaign event. Dean Re, instead of being a guarantor of unity, has established himself as a party leader. And the Church, on the eve of the conclave, is witnessing the public staging of a battle for the soul of the next papacy.

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