Es el primer candidato oficial a Papa anunciado el miércoles en el marco de las congregaciones, deliberaciones y encuentros de los cardenales, previos al cónclave del 7 de mayo. La iniciativa ha sido del cardenal Jean-Claude Hollerich, arzobispo de Luxemburgo, uno de los colaboradores de fierro del papa Francisco. Propuso a los purpurados votar por el arzobispo de Malta, Mario Grech.

Tanto Hollerich como Grech están empeñados en diseñar la Iglesia Sinodal, como quería Bergoglio, que de hecho significa un empeño que extenderá a los laicos y a las mujeres el organismo hasta ahora reservado solo a los obispos.

Antes de morir, el pontífice argentino decidió prorrogar hasta 2028 el Sínodo de la Sinodalidad, que ya lleva casi cuatro años de vida. Sínodo quiere decir “caminar juntos”. El cardenal Hollerich, jesuita como Francisco, fue nombrado por Bergoglio como relator del experimento que lanzó en 2021 para dar vida a una institución católica más inclusiva, abierta y participativa.

La sinodalidad es el instrumento que Jorge Bergoglio decidió utilizar para modernizar la Iglesia y que desató una oposición que dura hasta hoy, sobre todo de los grupos y personajes eclesiales identificados con los conservadores y tradicionalistas. Los conflictos del Sínodo están ahora presentes también en el Cónclave.

Que venga del lado sinodal el lanzamiento de un cardenal candidato a Papa, como el maltés Mario Grech, que acaba de cumplir 68 años, se explica porque el Papa Francisco lo confirmó como Secretario General del Sínodo de Obispos y estaba contento con su desempeño.

¿Es Grech un candidato de bandera? Se dice que el también mentado como candidato a Papa, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, cardenal Patriarca de Jerusalén, ve con simpatía la candidatura y no comenta que es también él mismo una probable alternativa cuando llegue la hora del voto, a partir del miércoles 7.

Todavía faltan nueve cardenales para completar el número de 135 electores que votarán en el Cónclave, el más numeroso de la historia. Para elegir al sucesor de Francisco hará falta reunir el sufragio de 89, que es el número mágico de los dos tercios necesarios, nunca tantos como ahora.

Votarán por primera vez el miércoles 7 en la Capilla Sixtina.

El sufragio inaugural permite darse una idea de quiénes cuentan y quiénes no con un apoyo suficiente. El momento decisivo debería llegar el jueves 8. La mayoría de los cardenales ha comentado que su pálpito es que la elección será rápida.

Se recuerda que en las últimas dos votación para elegir a los nuevos Papas, en la segunda jornada fueron consagrados los dos candidatos, En 2005, el alemán Josef Ratzinger logró los dos tercios de los sufragios al cuarto escrutinio (el primero de la tarde), mientras que el argentino Jorge Bergoglio triunfó en la quinta y última votación de la segunda jornada.

La elección rápida permite demostrar que existe un clima de unidad que es fundamental para la Iglesia cuando parte un nuevo pontificado. Los tiempos largos hacen más sombrío el panorama.

Recién cuando el elegido acepte el cargo se ponen las boletas de los votos en la chimenea que anuncia al exterior con la “fumata bianca” (el humo blanco) que el nuevo pontífice ha sido elegido. En los votaciones anteriores la “fumata” es negra para comunicar al exterior que el Papa sigue en veremos.

La jornada libre del Día de los Trabajadores debería favorecer las conversaciones entre los cardenales. Solo uno de los que entran al Cónclave debe empeñarse. El cardenal argentino Victor Manuel Fernandez, “ministro” de la doctrina y amigo de Jorge Bergoglio, tenía previsto este jueves oficiar la misa de los Novendiales, los nueve días de luto por la muerte del pontífice.

Elon Musk says he saved the U.S. taxpayer more than $160 million during his first three months getting the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) off the ground — but he also enjoyed midnight snacks of ice cream from the White House kitchen, a «comically tiny office» and a friendship with President Donald Trump. 

Fox News Digital was invited, along with a small group of reporters, to have an on-the-record discussion with Musk in the White House’s Roosevelt Room on Wednesday evening about his first 100 days as a special government employee.

That status allowed him to work for the federal government for «no more than 130 days in a 365-day period,» according to data from the Office of Government Ethics. Musk said the first 100 days was «an intense period» and said at times, he was in Washington, D.C., working on his DOGE efforts «7 days a week, or close to 7 days a week.» 

Musk said he will cut that down to one or two days a week, or every other week, and will continue working for the Trump administration «at the discretion of the president.» 

ELON MUSK RECEIVES APPLAUSE FROM CABINET AS HE BEGINS PLANNED DEPARTURE FROM DOGE ROLE

«I’m willing to contribute one to two days a week, coming to D.C. every other week for one to three days—indefinitely, as long as the president wants me to do that,» Musk said. «It’s largely a volunteer organization.» 

Musk, in response to a question from Fox News Digital, said he has slept in the White House’s Lincoln bedroom multiple times. 

«I didn’t think I would ever sleep in there,» Musk said. «The president, we’re good friends, and we’ll be on Air Force One, or Marine One, and he’ll be like, ‘do you want to stay over?’ and I’ll be like, ‘sure,’ and he’ll send me to the Lincoln bedroom.» 

Musk said he did not ever «request it,» but that Trump would always ask «‘do you want to stay here?’»

DOGE leader Elon Musk has been hit with 96% negative coverage on ABC, NBC and CBS evening newscasts, according to the Media Research Center. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

«And he gave me a tour of the Lincoln bedroom, and told me all the history,» Musk said.

SCOOP: DOGE CAUCUS PLANS WHITE HOUSE MEETING AS ELON MUSK PREPS TO STEP BACK

«And then, he’ll actually call me late night and say, ‘by the way, make sure you get ice cream from the kitchen,» Musk recalled. «I ate a whole tub of ice cream—caramel. Häagen-Dazs.» 

Musk laughed, «Yeah, it’s epic.» 

«Don’t tell RFK I ate a whole tub,» Musk laughed. «The president is a very good host, and he said, make sure you have some of the ice cream, and I said OK. I went to the kitchen and got some ice cream.» 

When asked for the exact number of nights Musk slept in the Lincoln bedroom, he replied, «I don’t know if I should say the number—more than once.» 

Musk was also given a small office in the White House, which he said he intends to keep. 

«I’m keeping my micro-office,» Musk said, adding that it is «on the top floor it has a view of nothing.» 

«It has a window but all you see is an HVAC unit,» Musk explained. «I guess it’s harder to shoot me—there’s not a good line of sight in there.» 

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, right, speaks with then-former President Donald Trump during a campaign event at the Butler Farm Show on Oct. 5, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

«I like my comically tiny office upstairs,» Musk said, adding that, while it is tiny, he has «the biggest monitor,» where he views «important information—secret stuff.» Musk admitted, though, that he has «occasionally played a video game.» 

When asked by Fox News Digital which video game, Musk laughed and said, «Diablo in the Path of Exile.» 

As for DOGE, Musk said he is proud of its work so far, and «in the grand scheme of things, I think we’ve been effective,» just «not as effective as I’d like.» 

«I think we could be more effective, but we’ve made progress —and more progress than I think has happened since Clinton and Gore,» Musk said. «It is ironic to see the Clinton and Gore speeches — they sound like DOGE. If you took a transcript and say who said it? DOGE or Clinton-Gore? You would have a hard time. They sound identical to what we say.» 

He added, «We are just Democrats from the ’90s who got teleported into 2025.»

DOGE SLASHES ‘WASTEFUL’ ‘PROBLEM-SOLVING’ CONTRACT WORTH $50K IN LATEST ROUND OF ELIMINATIONS

«Things have just evolved. There is that classic saying, we didn’t leave the Democratic Party — the Democratic Party left us,» Musk continued. «Just, objectively, from a policy standpoint, that is just objectively true. Our goals are safe cities, secure borders, sensible spending—these used to be Democrat positions and perhaps they will be in the future — but they just seem like common sense.» 

Meanwhile, Musk reflected on his day-to-day for the first 100 days, saying that things «have to be very intense for the first three months, so trying to understand what’s going on and map out the government in general.» 

«The federal government is a gigantic beast — very complicated — and so if you’re trying to figure out how to stop waste and fraud, you’ve got to map the territory,» Musk said. «That required three months of intense effort, and you have to build the team as well.» 

President Donald Trump, right, and White House senior advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, depart after looking at Tesla vehicles on the South Lawn of the White House on March 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

«A new administration is like a start-up,» Musk continued. «Now, we’re getting more of a rhythm and so the amount of time necessary for me to spend here is much less and I can return to primarily running my companies, which do need me.» 

Fox News Digital asked Musk if he has had fun during his first three months leading DOGE. 

«It’s like, 60% fun. 70% fun — depends on the week,» Musk said. «But being attacked relentlessly is not super fun. Seeing cars burning is not fun. But when I feel like we’re doing good for the American taxpayer and stopping wasteful spending and fixing computer systems, I feel like that’s a good thing.» 

A DOGE official at the meeting on Wednesday said that 1% of the federal workforce, or slightly more than 20,000 people, have been fired. However, that official stressed that the federal government has «hired 26,000 people.» 

«So we have hired more people than we’ve fired,» the official said. 

DOGE’S GREATEST HITS: LOOK BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE CUTS DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS

Musk chimed in and said, in America, «we actually want to have fewer people in the federal government and more people making things.» 

Musk also told reporters that DOGE has referred cases of fraud to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution. 

«The wheels of justice turn slowly but, hopefully, surely,» Musk said. «When we find cases of fraud, we refer those cases to the DOJ — it is not DOGE prosecuting anyone.» 

Musk said there are «hundreds of thousands of cases of what appear to be fraud,» but a DOGE official said they have referred, at this point, 57 cases of possible voter fraud to the DOJ. 

President Donald Trump, right, is joined by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his son, X Musk, during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Musk also said he will meet with the House DOGE caucus next week, and said his work with House and Senate lawmakers has been «extremely positive.»

At the end of the conversation, Musk laughed and said, «It is funny that we’ve got DOGE.» 

«Are we in a simulation here? Or what’s going on? How did we get here?!» Musk laughed.

DAVID MARCUS: WHAT AMERICA OWES ELON MUSK AFTER DOGE

«I’m proud of the incredible work by the DOGE team who have taken a lot of flak and these are people who could easily get high-paying jobs in the private sector, and, in fact, came from high-paying jobs in the private sector,» Musk said.

DOGE has fewer than 100 employees.

«Some will stay on, some will not,» Musk said. «It is up to them. This is basically a volunteer organization.»

When asked if DOGE is winding down, Musk said, «No.»

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«DOGE is a way of life,» Musk said. «Like Buddhism. You wouldn’t ask who would lead Buddhism.»

When asked who would lead DOGE when Musk is not in Washington, Musk replied, «Is Buddha needed for Buddhism?»

The parents of the American hostages still held by the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza have called on President Donald Trump to use his reputation for being «tough» and apply pressure on not only known enemies but one of his closest allies: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

There are 59 hostages still in Gaza, at least 24 of whom are assessed to be alive, including American-Israeli Edan Alexander, now 21 years old after having spent two birthdays in Hamas captivity.

Itay Chen, 19, Omer Neutra, 21, Judy Weinstein Haggai, 70, and her husband, Gadi Weinstein, 73, are all believed to have been killed by Hamas in it’s attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and whose bodies were taken into Gaza.

«I believe that the president is a very tough person, and he should be tough with the enemies and with friends as well,» Adi Alexander, who is Edan’s father, told Fox News Digital in a direct reference to Israel.

PRESIDENT TRUMP GAVE ME BACK MY LIFE AFTER 471 DAYS OF HAMAS CAPTIVITY – PLEASE SAVE THE REMAINING HOSTAGES

«We asked of the president to keep everybody accountable,» Alexander, who sat next to his wife, Yael, described after the second phase of a ceasefire, which was supposed to begin in March but failed and Israel resumed military operations in the Gaza Strip to the immense frustration of mediators. 

In addition, the families urged Trump to keep Netanyahu «on a short leash» and to «get him back to negotiate as soon as possible and stop this thing.»

Trump this week marked his 100th day in office, and the families of the five Americans still held hostage urged him to reflect on his strategy and apply pressure on both Israel and Hamas, through both economic and diplomatic means, to secure the release of all 59 hostages.

«With the election results, we had such high hopes,» Ruby Chen, father to Itay, told reporters during a press event on Wednesday. «We know he cares about the topic, and we saw, even before the inauguration, his comments on the topic with the ‘hell to pay’ and ‘all the hostages need to come out.’»

«But I think the 100-day mark that we are at this moment, I think it’s a good time to reflect and say that the job’s not done,» said Chen, sitting next to his wife, Hagit Chen.

Trump sparked international concern in February when he suggested the Gaza Strip should be turned into the «Riviera of the Middle East,» and fears have mounted that as Washington continues to discuss potentially displacing Palestinians and Israel continues aggressive military operations, Hamas may be unwilling to give up its leverage: the hostages. 

Hagit Chen and her son, Itay, who was 19 years old when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. (Hagit Chen)

AN AMERICAN FATHER’S PLEA: PRESIDENT TRUMP, PLEASE BRING MY SON AND THE OTHER HOSTAGES HOME FROM GAZA

Calls within the Gaza Strip are increasing from Palestinians to return all the hostages so a day-after plan can be discussed as Palestinian civilians continue to feel the consequences of the brutal war.

«It’s easy rhetoric to say that Hamas won’t hold their side of the deal,» Orna Neutra, mother to Omer, told reporters. «If they don’t hold their side of the deal, then [Netanyahu] can return to hostilities. 

«But let’s allow them to release all hostages and see if that happens or not instead of just saying they won’t do it,» she added, noting it could be another leveraging point for the Trump administration.

The families of the hostages are careful not to get overly involved in the heated political topics, but instead they have highlighted the importance of and need for a solid strategy to first secure the release of all remaining hostages, and then figure out a day-after plan. 

Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff has suggested that Hamas could become politically active in the Gaza Strip, but they need to fully disarm.

«I think the best approach will be just to call for both parties to rise above politics, although it will be very difficult with Hamas, which is politically struggling to survive in this region, but definitely to call on [the] Israeli government to rise above politics,» Alexander said. «Do not think about politically surviving and prioritize human life.»

Emaciated Israeli hostages, from left, Ohad Ben Ami, Eli Sharabi and Or Levy, who were held hostage by Hamas in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, are taken by terrorists to a stage before being handed over to the Red Cross in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Feb. 8, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The families pointed to polling from Israel that shows nearly 70% of Israelis favor ending military operations against Hamas in order to return all the hostages more than 573 days since they were abducted, including some 48% of Netanyahu’s coalition base. Some 39% of his conservative base apparently oppose the strategy, and another 13% are unsure.

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While there is evident frustration among the families of the hostages, who have made clear the Israeli government has not offered anywhere near the same level of support or communication provided by both the Biden and Trump administrations, they said that, ultimately, the adversary is the terrorist organization that captured, in some instances killed, and continues to hold captive their loved ones. 

«Just to be clear, Hamas is the enemy,» said Neutra, who sat next to her husband, Ronen. «Hamas committed these atrocious crimes. They’re holding on to our family members. We don’t want to see them continue to be a threat to Israel.

«But it’s about priority, and it’s about being in the situation for 19 months now,» she added.