VATICAN CITY (AP) — There has long been a Vatican taboo against openly talking about a conclave when a pope is sick: It’s considered gauche to speculate about the election of a new pope while the current one is fighting for his life. And that is certainly true as Pope Francis battles double pneumonia at Rome’s Gemelli hospital.But the surprising success of “Conclave” the film and momentum going into Sunday’s Academy Awards have thrust the arcane rules, glorious ceremony and supreme drama of one of the Catholic Church’s most solemn moments into popular culture, and put the Catholic hierarchy in something of a bind as it simultaneously prays for Francis.The film can’t be dismissed as distasteful or blasphemous, since it treats the gravity of a papal election with respect and accurately portrays the ancient rituals and contemporary problems facing today’s Catholic Church. Both the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano and the Avvenire daily of the Italian bishops conference gave “Conclave” rave reviews.Granted…

There has long been a Vatican taboo against openly talking about a conclave when a pope is sick: It’s considered gauche to speculate about the election of a new pope while the current one is fighting for his life.