Italian Catholic scandal draws in Pope Benedict
source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_intrigue
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VATICAN CITY – A scandal in Italy's Catholic Church has morphed into a tale of Vatican intrigue complete with forged documents, reports of dueling cardinals and a papal admonishment Tuesday to put the matter to rest.
The scandal erupted in August, when the newspaper Il Giornale reported that it had court documents showing the editor of the newspaper of the Italian Bishops' Conference had paid to settle charges that he harassed the wife of a man he was romantically pursuing.
The revelations were initially seen as retribution by Il Giornale, which is owned by Premier Silvio Berlusconi's brother, against the bishops' newspaper, Avvenire. The Catholic paper had harshly criticized the premier and demanded he answer questions about his purported liaisons with younger women.
Il Giornale accused Avvenire editor Dino Boffo of hypocrisy, saying the journalist had been fined in a plea-bargain several years ago for making harassing calls to the man's wife.
Prosecutors say Boffo made the calls, but have denied the case involved a gay angle. Boffo acknowledged being fined in the case but said someone else had used his cell phone to make the calls. Amid the fallout, he resigned from Avvenire in September, saying he wanted to spare his family and the church further humiliation.
Three months later, Il Giornale's editor Vittorio Feltri — who had penned the initial articles — admitted the document implying Boffo is gay was falsified, and apologized in a front-page letter.
The scandal resurfaced last week when Feltri said the document in question had been given to him by an "institutional" church official whom he trusted.
Some Italian media suggested that the editor of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, essentially the pope's mouthpiece, was involved. Others suggested the Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, was behind it.
There have been long-running reports in the Italian media of battles between Bertone and the leadership of the Italian Bishops' Conference, particularly its previous head Cardinal Camillo Ruini. Italian news reports have said Bertone sought to wrest dealings with the Italian government away from the bishops' conference and had vetoed candidates for the conference leadership who he deemed were too powerful.
Italian newspapers routinely publish unsourced stories about machinations in the Vatican. Rarely, though, do such reports elicit thorough and high-ranking denials.
On Tuesday, however, Bertone issued a statement saying that reports of Vatican involvement were false and that Pope Benedict XVI himself "deplored these unjust and insulting attacks" that were "defaming the Holy See."
L'Osservatore Romano ran the statement on its front page with a note saying Benedict had approved the text and ordered it published.
VATICAN CITY – A scandal in Italy's Catholic Church has morphed into a tale of Vatican intrigue complete with forged documents, reports of dueling cardinals and a papal admonishment Tuesday to put the matter to rest.
The scandal erupted in August, when the newspaper Il Giornale reported that it had court documents showing the editor of the newspaper of the Italian Bishops' Conference had paid to settle charges that he harassed the wife of a man he was romantically pursuing.
The revelations were initially seen as retribution by Il Giornale, which is owned by Premier Silvio Berlusconi's brother, against the bishops' newspaper, Avvenire. The Catholic paper had harshly criticized the premier and demanded he answer questions about his purported liaisons with younger women.
Il Giornale accused Avvenire editor Dino Boffo of hypocrisy, saying the journalist had been fined in a plea-bargain several years ago for making harassing calls to the man's wife.
Prosecutors say Boffo made the calls, but have denied the case involved a gay angle. Boffo acknowledged being fined in the case but said someone else had used his cell phone to make the calls. Amid the fallout, he resigned from Avvenire in September, saying he wanted to spare his family and the church further humiliation.
Three months later, Il Giornale's editor Vittorio Feltri — who had penned the initial articles — admitted the document implying Boffo is gay was falsified, and apologized in a front-page letter.
The scandal resurfaced last week when Feltri said the document in question had been given to him by an "institutional" church official whom he trusted.
Some Italian media suggested that the editor of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, essentially the pope's mouthpiece, was involved. Others suggested the Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, was behind it.
There have been long-running reports in the Italian media of battles between Bertone and the leadership of the Italian Bishops' Conference, particularly its previous head Cardinal Camillo Ruini. Italian news reports have said Bertone sought to wrest dealings with the Italian government away from the bishops' conference and had vetoed candidates for the conference leadership who he deemed were too powerful.
Italian newspapers routinely publish unsourced stories about machinations in the Vatican. Rarely, though, do such reports elicit thorough and high-ranking denials.
On Tuesday, however, Bertone issued a statement saying that reports of Vatican involvement were false and that Pope Benedict XVI himself "deplored these unjust and insulting attacks" that were "defaming the Holy See."
L'Osservatore Romano ran the statement on its front page with a note saying Benedict had approved the text and ordered it published.
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ryan8566
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since the italian president ordered a crackdown on organised crime, this is the obvious place to start....bring benedict out the door in handcuffs...he has his own hood. the above crimes would only scratch the surface, as he is 'complicit'
in hiding bishops, priests for rape and sexual assault in many countries for many years, yet still draining (money laundering) from the poor people every week, esp. with a '2nd collection' for what people thought was charity, but only for legal costs. - 2 years ago
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ryan8566
