Cardinal George Pell at his last mass this week at St Vincent's Church in Ashfield, Sydney, before flying to Rome. Picture: Sam Mooy Source: The Australian
AUSTRALIA'S Cardinal George Pell yesterday called on the Vatican press office to respond "in some constructive way" to reports of an internal investigation by three senior cardinals that told Pope Benedict XVI about an insidious web of blackmail, corruption and homosexual sex inside the Vatican.
Italy's La Repubblica newspaper linked Benedict's resignation with a top secret 300-page dossier prepared by Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, Slovak Cardinal Jozef Tomko and Italian Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi into the "Vatileaks" affair, which saw the Pope's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, arrested and jailed for stealing and leaking papal documents.
None of the three cardinals will take part in the conclave because they are over 80 years of age, but they are expected to brief those voting about their findings.
According to La Repubblica, the report was "an exact map of the mischief and the bad fish" inside the Holy See, with the cardinals finding that one faction of Vatican officials, "united by sexual orientation", had been subject to "external influence" from laymen with whom they had links of a "worldly nature", which the paper said was a reference to blackmail.
It quoted a source close to the cardinals as saying that everything centred on "non-observance of the sixth and seventh commandments", which forbid adultery (included homosexual sex) and stealing. The report also mentioned numerous venues in and around Rome where clandestine encounters took place, including a sauna, a beauty parlour and a university residence.
Speaking just before he flew to Rome for the conclave that will elect Benedict's successor, Cardinal Pell, who read the full article, said: "I know nothing of the content of the report but whatever it contains it is clear that significant reforms are needed within the Vatican bureaucracy."
He praised Benedict for his "courage for commissioning such a report".
The cardinal said it remained to be seen how much of La Repubblica's report was accurate or whether it went beyond recycling material already on the public record. But it was important, he said, that the Vatican press office responded "as I'm sure it will given recent reforms".
But Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi pulled down the shutters yesterday. He said: "Don't expect comments or rebuttals of what is being said on this issue."
Cardinal Herranz, who chaired the commission, confirmed: "The Pope is the only person we have reported to on this question."
The report was handed to the Pope on December 17 last year and has been locked in a Vatican safe, awaiting Benedict's successor.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Weekend Australian, Cardinal Pell said the 24-hour news cycle had became a game-changer for the Pope and the church, just as it had for domestic and international politics.
As cardinals head to Rome for a series of meetings ahead of the conclave, controversy surrounds the attendance of retired Los Angeles cardinal Roger Mahony. Cardinal Mahony was stood down from all church duties earlier this month by his successor over his mishandling of sexual abuse complaints.
Tomorrow, Benedict will greet the crowd that will gather in St Peter's Square for the final Angelus address of his pontificate. More than 30,000 have applied for tickets for his General Audience in the square on Wednesday.
No comments:
Post a Comment