Ill informed since the guy is a relatively progressive and much more worldly, living in other places most of his life. Lol

That wouldn’t initially matter to them.

Far right people love to convince themselves that most people are secretly on their side. That’s why the vatican had to excommunicate their archbishop to America. Since he went full maga and started ranting about the pope trying to control the vatican. Because in their mind, the rest of the vatican is on their side, and the pope was trying to “turn them against us”.

So they fully expected this incominog guy to be on their side, until they were informed otherwise.