This page refers to the fictions character who appears in Aberrant. For the real-world pontiff 2005-2013, see Benedict XVI.
Mario Bardi, publicly known as Benedict XVI, is the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in the Nova Age.
Background[]
Upon the death of Pope John Paul II in 2001, it seemed likely that newly-created Cardinal Juan Luis Cipliani of Opus Dei would be his successor. However, Luciano Camparelli drew on the long-established ties between the Church and the mafia to engineer Bardi's selection instead. Bardi's liberalism, including his official embrace of novas in the bull Ad Dei Lucem, enraged Opus Dei but made him popular with the general public. Camparelli's backing means Project Utopia cannot move against the Camparelli-Zukhov Megasyndicate without exposing the Church's role in mafia money-laundering, and potentially bringing down an important nova ally.[1].
Benedict was the target of an Opus Dei conspiracy in 2010 designed to undermine his authority within the Church. Rather than simply assassinate him, Father Angelo Chalepeno created a false paper trail that implicated the pope's brother Antonio Bardi in a mafia money-laundering scheme that also involved a Vatican charitable fund. He then arranged for a team of novas to discover the "crime" while Benedict was touring the United States.[2] This was uncovered by C-Z operatives, who stepped in to protect their "investment" in Benedict, touching off a protracted war of attrition between the mafia and Opus Dei.[3][1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 TU: Aberrant: Underworld, p. 19
- ↑ TU: Aberrant Worldwide: Phase II, p. 4-5
- ↑ TU: Aberrant Worldwide: Phase II, p. 27