Siri thesis

The Siri Thesis is the belief that Cardinal Giuseppe Siri, the long-serving and conservative Archbishop of Genoa, was actually elected Pope in the 1958 papal conclave, but that his election was then suppressed.

By 2006, the Siri Thesis was a fringe belief, thought to be held by hundreds, at most thousands of mostly traditionalist Catholic people. Cardinal Siri himself did not associate himself with this belief.

The followers of the Siri Thesis claim that during the papal conclave of 1958, Cardinal Siri, who was considered the leading conservative candidate, was elected Pope on the first day of the conclave, October 26, and took the pontifical name of Gregory XVII. However, the pro-Siri movement itself quoted Siri as making clear his intention to refuse if elected.

Newspapers the world over carried the Associated Press picture of the white smoke emanating from the Sistine Chapel chimney from 5:55 PM until 6:00 PM on October 26, 1958, indicating that a Pope had been elected. Vatican Radio also concluded that a Pope had been elected on the third ballot and announced it as such, telling listeners, "The smoke is white... There is absolutely no doubt. A Pope has been elected." However, no Pope appeared, and at 6 PM the smoke changed to black, signaling that no Pope had been elected.

Two days later, the white smoke again rose from the Sistine Chapel, and Angelo Roncalli emerged to as Pope John XXIII.

This idea is founded on the outcry against Siri's strong anti-communist stance.

Malachi Martin later said that Siri had been elected as Pope during the Papal conclave of October 1958. He said in March 1997 on Paranet Continuum radio programme Steel on Steel, hosted by John Loefller, that Siri had received a written note after his initial election threatening him and his family with death should he accept. Martin wrote of threats which involved "the very existence of the Vatican state" during a conclave on pages 600–610 of his book The Keys of this Blood. According to Martin, after such threats entered the conclave, progressive factions amongst the cardinals in the conclave, particularly the French cardinals, pressured Siri to step aside, claiming that his strong anti-Communist policies would lead, among other things, to widespread persecution of Catholics in Eastern Europe. Siri would then have accepted this suggestion and stepped aside, rather than having said that he would refuse to serve if elected.

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Wikipedia