Tag Archives: Vatileaks

The most promising Pope candidates part IV: Tarcisio Bertone

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Cardinal Bertone: The Ambitious

Tarcisio Bertone (78) comes into the spotlight this week, as head of the “Camera Apostolica” (Apostolic Chamber). As in 2005, he is still considered “papabile”.

Bertone was Benedict XVI.’s “Head of Government” and is certainly not exempt from criticism within the Vatican. As Secretary of State, the Cardinal was kind of a right-hand of the Pope. Bertone is regarded as down-to-earth and open-minded. Since 2007 he is the  Camerlengo (Cardinal Chamberlain).

tarcisio-bertone

Tarcisio Bertone, born on December 2, 1934, grew up with seven brothers and joined the order of the Salesians of Don Bosco at the age of 16. After his ordination in 1960, he earned his doctorate in Canon law and taught for several years at the Pontifical Salesian University as well as at the Lateran University.

He was one of the revisers of the new code of Canon law, published in 1983. In 1991 John Paul II. appointed him Archbishop of the small Piedmontese Archdiocese of Vercelli, but just four years later he moved to the     Congregation of the Faith in Rome. There he was the secretary of prefect Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, was appointed Archbishop of Genua in December 2002, and is a Cardinal since 2003.

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Pope received the Cardinals of the “Vatileaks” Commission

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Ongoing speculations about a secret dossier on the so-called “Vatileaks” affair. Benedict XVI. received those three Cardinals that had presented him the report in December.

pope-benedict-thoughtful

On Monday, Benedict XVI. received the three Cardinals in charge of the investigation regarding the “Vatileaks” affair. It was four days before the end of his pontificate, that Benedict had held talks with the retired cardinals Julian Herranz, Jozef Tomko and Salvatore De Giorgi, according to sources from the Vatican. The three Cardinals had presented their second secret report to the Pope on December 17. This, so the view of the Italian media, had been the decisive factor for Benedict’s the resignation.

Files will keep new Pope busy

The mandate of the Cardinal’s Commission ended last year, the Vatican spokesman said. The Pope thanked the Cardinals for their investigations. “In fact, their work made it possible to detect, given the limitations and imperfections of the human component of each institution, the generosity, honesty and dedication of those who work in the Holy See at the service of the mission entrusted by Christ to the Roman Pontiff.”, it said in a press release.

Meaningful Meetings

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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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Vatileaks: Ex-butler obliged to silence

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The former Valet of the Pope, Paolo Gabriele, who is been convicted of document theft to 18 months imprisonment, then pardoned, is committed to silence.

The Italian news agency ANSA reported, the 46 Gabriele has signed a document in which he committed to the confidentiality of all the information from his time in the service of Pope Benedict XVI. The document was written by the lawyers of the Vatican.

Even after the pardon Benedict had kept in touch with Gabriele. He had him and his family “proven interest and paternal closeness” it says from Vatican sources. Gabriele has started to work this week as a clerk in the Vatican’s Children’s Hospital “Bambino Gesu”, a hospital in the Trastevere district of San Paolo.

paolo-gabriele

Sentencing in October, pardon in December

The Pope had pardoned Gabriele on December 23. Thereupon he was allowed to leave the cell where he was detained since the conviction in October. Gabriele was convicted on October 6 by a Vatican Court, because he had copied confidential documents in the so-called  „Vatileaks“ affair and passed on to the journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi. Nuzzi published them in his exposé. According to investigations, Gabriele sent Nuzzi numerous copied letters and secret documents from the home of the Pope.

When the documents were published, observers speculated intra Vatican infighting had been the real cause of the breach of trust, one of the targets was Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone. Nuzzis book had made worldwide headlines in the past few months.