The papal election could produce a surprise. Unless it doesn't.

The papal election could produce a surprise. Unless it doesn't.

(RNS) — Anyone who tells you who the next pope will be is just blowing smoke.

The intrigue and scandals surrounding the upcoming papal election are piling up. A cardinal accused of pedophilia is moving around Rome unconcernedly – and President Emmanuel Macron is said to be conspiring to get a French pope elected.

The papal conclave to elect Pope Francis' successor begins in four days, but the ball is already rolling around the global event. French President Emmanuel Macron is accused of trying to influence the upcoming papal election through the five French cardinals who are eligible to vote. Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő has also been implicated in the matter, unfoundedly.