The ANNOTICO Report

With the selection of a new Pope imminent, a Papal Historian discusses the last Papal Election.

Philadelphia Archbishop John Cardinal Krol, was a "fellow Polish" Cardinal of Karol Wojtyla, and was of immense power in North and South America,  and acted as campaign manager, and brought the Western Hemisphere to the Europeans  and said, 'Let's break the Italian rule.'  And so it was.

It started when two young Polish priests discovered their parents were from the same area in Poland. It was a connection that lasted decades, and both of them became cardinals at the same time.
Pope John Paul II and former Philadelphia Archbishop John Cardinal Krol, (pictured, above, in Philadelphia) were close personal friends for decades before Karol Wojtyla ascended to the papacy.
What people don't know is that there is a lot of intrigue when it comes to the secret election of a pope.
Dr. Christopher Bellitto, a papal expert from Kean University, has written books and articles about the papacy and claims that friendship between the pontiff and Krol played a crucial role in the last conclave.
"We know, for instance, that Cardinal Krol, Philadelphia's Cardinal Krol, was the kingmaker for Karol Wojtyla at the election of 1978. It was he that brought the North Americans and the South Americans over to the side of the Europeans and said, 'Let's break the Italian rule.' Cardinal Krol was a very powerful man, so you can look upon him as a campaign manager," Bellitto said.
Papal elections are held by members of the College of Cardinals from all over the world. They are cloistered inside the Sistine Chapel in Rome and the deliberations are top secret. However, after the fact sometimes the word leaks out.
"There is secrecy and there is secrecy. For instance, it's leaked that Cardinal Krol was the kingmaker in 1978. Can it ever be proven? No. Does everyone know that it's true? Yes," Bellitto said.
In an interesting side note, the name Krol, means king in Polish.
http://www.nbc10.com/news/4315585/detail.html