Police have raided the hometown of Papacy frontrunner, Cardinal Angela Scola. The anti-Mafia police are investigating a string of corruption in the health sector. Although Scola has no direct link to the investigations, there is reason to believe that he has some connection with the raid. This is because the suspect, Roberto Formigoni, happens to be a close childhood friend of the Scola. Roberto is a representative of the Communion and Liberation fellowship. Apart from this investigation, he is also under investigation for conspiracy although he denies both charges. The cardinal is thus not under any investigation for any crime, but his close allies are. The article also raises a question whether the raid will have any influence on the papacy selection. Already, the 115 cardinals are in the process of selecting a new pope, and therefore, might not hear of the raid, as they have no communication with the outside world.
Cardinal Scola has 50% backing of the 115 cardinals as the successor of the resigned pope. I would term the timing of the raid as suspect, with an aim of tarnishing the name of the would-be pope. Knowing the importance of papacy selection, the anti-Mafia police should have waited for the process to end before raiding the area. Maybe the police wanted the world to know the real colors of the cardinal and those that are close to him. However, I tend to agree with the reporter that the raid would have no effect on the selection process. If the cardinals had a way of knowing about the raid, then without a doubt this would diminish the chances of Scola becoming the next pontiff. Scola went into the conclave as the frontrunner, but was not selected as the new pope, a slight indicator that the news of the raid somehow reached the other cardinals.