For a man who has often been called the Vatican's "watchdog of orthodoxy" or "latter-day Inquisitor General", the German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has a disarmingly mild manner.
When he arrives at the Vatican's press office to present yet another document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (of which he is Prefect), he tends to look and sound more like a retiring, white-haired academic than a crusading, ultra-orthodox, Vatican traditionalist.
Yet within the silver-haired glove lurks a steely fist. Two weeks ago, Cardinal Ratzinger presented a "declaration" reminding the Catholic faithful that "there exists a single Church of Christ, which subsists in the Catholic Church".
Inevitably, the declaration in question, Dominus Iesus, prompted worldwide comment given that its thrust appeared to have potentially negative implications for both inter-religious and ecumenical dialogue.
Given the fuss created by the hardline, ultra-orthodox nature of Dominus Iesus, it was perhaps inevitable that many commentators paid little or no attention to its possible "internal" significance.
In other words, the timing of Dominus Iesus prompts speculation that it is, among other things, nothing less than a preconclave exhortation from powerful Curia forces about the direction in which they wish to steer the Catholic Church during the next pontificate.
Dominus Iesus was released two days after the controversial beatification of Pius IX, a pope perhaps best known for his virulent anti-Semitism, his anti-modernist Syllabus Of Errors, his opposition to the unification of Italy and for having placed major stumbling blocks on the path of ecumenical dialogue by locking both papal infallibility and the Immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary into Catholic Church doctrine.
It is hard not to see a pre-conclave link between the two events. At this late stage in the pontificate of the physically ailing John Paul II, it is clearly not without future significance that the Vatican has chosen in the space of 48 hours to, on the one hand, beatify Pius IX and, on the other, remind the faithful that Protestant and Anglican churches are "not churches in the proper sense".
Further indications that some of the most senior forces in the Curia are currently working overtime to define the agenda for the next pontificate appeared to emerge last weekend when the Pope nominated Archbishop Giovanni Battista Re, currently the Sostituto (Home Office Minister) at the Secretariat of State, as Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops.
Mgr Re was appointed in succession to Brazilian Cardinal Lucas Moreira Neves.
A Vatican "insider", well known within the Curia for being an incurable workaholic, Mgr Re will now take over the Vatican "department" that handles appointments throughout the Universal Church. Furthermore, as Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, he can reasonably be expected to be made a Cardinal at the next Consistory.
It has always seemed only logical that when the Cardinal Electors go into the next conclave, they will have to resolve ongoing tensions within the church about the way forward. They may have to choose between "safe hands" and an "innovator"; between candidates who represent change and those who are pro-status quo; between those who wish for a greater regional autonomy within the church and those who believe in the current centralised Vatican-dominated church; between the local churches and the Curia.
In that context, the pro-status quo Curia faction has gained at least one in number, following last weekend's appointment of Mgr Re.
Along with other Curia "traditionalists" such as the current Secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Belgian Cardinal Jan Schotte and, of course, Cardinal Ratzinger, Mgr Re combines to form an impressive, influential Curia team certain to make the most of "home" advantage in the forthcoming (and continuing) change-versus-status-quo conclave debate.
In this context, too, it is also intriguing that a number of other senior Curia figures might reasonably be expected to be nominated cardinal at the next consistory.
Vietnamese Archbishop Nguen Van Thuan of the Council for Justice and Peace, Polish Archbishop Zenon Grocholewski of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Portuguese Archbishop Jose Saraiva Martins of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints (the department that beatified Pius IX) and the Spanish Archbishop Julian Herranz, President of the Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, all head Vatican departments and, as such, can expect to be made cardinal, sooner or later.
It would seem that what one non-Vatican, anglophone bishop recently referred to as the "intimidating Curia phalanx" will be well in place come the next conclave, whenever that happens. Not, of course, that this will guarantee electoral victory for the Curia candidate. The Holy Spirit, after all, chose to work in mysterious ways with the election of John Paul II in October 1978 and could do so again.