Tag Archives: Benedict XVI

Open questions after “Vatileaks” and Pope’s resignation

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Vatican insiders wonder whether the scandal surrounding the unfaithful butler Paolo Gabriele has moved Benedict XVI. to resign. Many questions remain unanswered after the “Vatileaks” affair.

According to journalists and Pope biographer Peter Seewald, the “Vatileaks” affair was not the reason for Benedict XVI’s resignation. The betrayal of his long-time servant Paolo Gabriele had neither thrown the Pope off track, nor tired of office, Seewald reported after a conversation with Benedict XVI. at the summer residence in Castel Gandolfo last August. BBut the case of the stolen papal documents that have partly publicly accessible, is one of the most spectacular scandals in the entire history of the Vatican.

Rumours about reasons for Pope resignation

So far, there has never been faced a that close collaborator of the Pope with such serious allegations. Therefore it cannot be ruled out, that the bitterness in consequence of the scandal, as well as the factional infighting among the Cardinals in the Curia have encouraged the Pope in his decision to resign. On Thursday the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica” wrote, that some Cardinals might be susceptible to blackmail, referring to a secret report regarding the “Vatileaks” affair, that three Cardinals had presented to the Pope on December 17 2012.

The report of the three-member Cardinal Commission about the scandal continues to be officially kept secret. Therefore it is still not known through which of the many duplicate letters and reports the Pope might have been susceptible to blackmail. Further there are circulating speculations, that the Italian intelligence service had obtained the material.

Open questions

After the imposition of a mild 18-month prison sentence against Gabriele and his pardon before Christmas, there remain many unanswered  questions about possible accomplices and the motives that may have led the 46-year-olds to the systematic theft of confidential documents of the Pope.

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Tens of thousands celebrate Pope Benedict XVI.

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Emotional finale of Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate

Endless joy and cheering by tens of thousands of faithfull as the outgoing Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his farewell in his last Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s square in Rome. With his retirement from Office, he is complying with Gods wish, said the head of the Roman Catholic Church.general-audienceThe people celebrated the Pope during the Angelus prayer as in the week before with “Viva il papa”-calls and long applause. Benedict’s voice faltered again and again during his speech, and he was interrupted by cheers of the faithful. “Thank you, in prayer we are always close to each other”, Benedict called out. He thanked the pilgrims for their love and sympathy in this “special moment for me and the Church”.

“Continue to serve the Church”

God had called him to devote himself more to meditation and prayer, which did not mean that he was leaving the church, said the 85-year-old. “On the contrary, if God is calling me, it is because I can continue to serve the church with the same dedication and love as before, but in a more appropriate way for my age and my strength,” he said in his speech. With a view to the daily Gospel of the transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, the Pope said that God had called him to “climb that mountain”.

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Disgraced U.S. Cardinal Roger Mahony admitted to the conclave

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The, burdened by an abuse scandal, Ex-Archbishop of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, may in the opinion of Cardinal Velasio de Paolis attend the papal election, despite ecclesiastical sanctions.

cardinal-roger-mahonyCardinal Roger Mahony

“According to the regulations, every Cardinal under 80 had the right and duty to appear at the Conclave”, said de Paolis, former Secretary of the Supreme Church Court of the Signature, to Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”.

The 76-year-old Mahony is under fire because of his handling of abuse cases in his time as a Diocesan director from 1985 to 2011. According to archive documents, published in January by the Archdiocese, Mahony specifically protected pädophile priests from the State prosecution. His successor Archbishop Jose Gomez called the acts “brutal and painful to read”. In an unprecedented act for the American Church, he relieved Mahony from all remaining positions and banned him from public work in Los Angeles.

archbishop-jose-gomezArchbishop Jose Gomez

“His conscience must decide”

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Standing ovations in St. Peter’s

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Call for “renewal and conversion”

This years Ash Wednesday in Rome is all about the demise of Pope Benedict XVI., who retires at the end of February from the highest office of the Catholic Church. In the evening, after the general Audience, the Pope celebrated his last Ash Wednesday liturgy before numerous church dignitaries and thousands of believers. He was greeted with thunderous applause.

In his sermon Benedict XVI. issued a call for renewal and conversion during Lent the worshipers. This just serves to renew the conversation and concrete actions. “Today, many are ready to tear down their clothes in the face of scandals and injustices – which were of course committed by others – but few seem only willing to work on one’s own heart, one’s own conscience and their own intentions, and thereby leave the conversion, renovation and conversion to the Lord, “said Benedict XVI.

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Division warning

It is important to remember this and to live that  this Lent: Everyone should be aware that the path of penance could not be overcome alone, but together with the many brothers and sisters in the Church, the Pope said.

“I think especially of the sin against the unity of the Church, to the divisions in the body of the Church,” the Pope said. “To live Lent in a more intense and visible ecclesial community and overcome the individualism and rivalries, is a humble and precious testimony to those who turned away from faith or are indifferent.”

Mass moved to St. Peter’s

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Church scandals fueling rumors

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The surprise resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. has left open several questions. In view of the church scandals in recent years from hundreds of abuse cases to the Vatileaks-affair, where personal documents of the Pope were published, there are many conspiracy theories.

Many just wonder why the Pope has chosen February 28 8:00 PM (CET) for this historic resignation. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi responded to the question on Tuesday at a press conference. That has nothing to do with legal or other reasons, Lombardi explained to reporters in Rome. Rather, “at this time usually the working of the Holy Father ends.”

Previously, on February 27, Benedict XVI wants to say goodbye to the faithful in the Saint Peter’s Square . During that day “the last general audience will take place,” Lombardi said. The audience will take place at St. Peter’s, “because a lot of people are expected.”

There are many even within the Roman Catolic Church that challenged the statement, that Benedict XVI. is resigning because of his age and health status. They rather imagine  a “coup by the conservatives”, or other reasons such as the “documents and banking scandals”. “Now, once all look forward to what’s really behind it, possibly beyond age and health. Was it a coup by the conservatives, or he has come under pressure for other reasons? For the ultra-conservative Society of St. Pius X the Pope behaves and decides way too open and liberal. “And the Vatican is interspersed with these people”.

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