The Pope has been forced to intervene in a damaging power struggle over who will become the next spiritual head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Pope Benedict XVI will decide next week who should succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor as Archbishop of Westminster. It is possible that he will shun all five candidates vying for the post and impose a Vatican diplomat instead.

The highly unusual move is the result of his advisers’ failure to reach a consensus on the best candidate.

The Catholic Church in England and Wales is riven by splits and opponents of at least two of the candidates have lobbied the Vatican in an attempt to sabotage the candidates’ hopes.

Some senior insiders say that the Church is in crisis and the wrong choice of Archbishop could cause it severe damage. The need for decision is urgent as Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor is retiring soon and next week begins a series of farewell Masses to congregations around his diocese.

The five candidates to succeed him are the Archbishop of Birmingham, Vincent Nichols; the Archbishop of Cardiff, Peter Smith; the Bishop of Nottingham, Malcolm McMahon; the Bishop of Leeds, Arthur Roche; and Bishop Bernard Longley, an auxiliary in the Westminster diocese.

If the Pope, who is currently touring Africa, decides that none the men meets the criteria, he may chose a relative unknown for the post.

The Times has learnt that the most likely candidate in that event is Archbishop Paul Gallagher, a Vatican diplomat and priest in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.

The Pope has previously appointed Vatican diplomats to dioceses in the United States after his advisers were unable to agree on one of the original candidates.

Last month Archbishop Gallagher was appointed Nuncio in Guatemala, before which he was Nuncio in Burundi. He is known for his skilled diplomacy and courage. Last April his diplomatic residence in Burundi was bombed. He was out of the country at the time but the attack did not stop him returning to his post.

However, the Vatican may wish to keep his talent in the diplomatic service and in a part of the world where the Church is growing fastest.

The lobbying for and against the official candidates has been fierce. One bishop has written to the Nuncio to argue against Archbishop Nichols, saying that he would be a divisive choice, while it is understood that the Pope has taken telephone calls from opponents of Bishop Roche, with several lobbyists claiming that Bishop Roche would be as divisive a figure as Archbishop Nichols.