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Cardinal Goffredo Tedesco is one of the two main antagonists (alongside Cardinal Joseph Tremblay) of the political thriller film Conclave, based on the novel of the same name by Robert Harris.
He is a right-wing Italian Cardinal who hates change and is hellbent on abolishing all the changes made by Vatican II.
He was played by Sergio Castellitto, who also played Miraz from The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
Personality[]
Though slightly friendly at times, Tedesco is power hungry, rude, ungrateful and above all, religiously intollerant, particularly as he believes there are too many Muslims in Europe.
His thankless attitude is shown when one of the attendants tries to help him take his suitcases and rejects his help by hitting his hand. He's xenophobic since he believes that the changes the Church is making is disintegrating and that only an Italian like himself can set the late previous Pope's influences in the opposite direction. His religious intollerance is even more visible during his rant towards the end when he demands a religious war against the Muslims in Europe, even going as far as to call them "animals".
Such behaviour is enough for the majority of the Cardinals of the Vatican Church to be determined to protect the Papacy from him at all costs, particularly Cardinal Aldo Bellini, who wanted absolutely nothing to do with being Pope, but keeps his candidacy (on the advice of Cardinal Lawrence who is the main protagonist of the movie) just so that he can stop him.