The Vigano "Case" and the Power Struggle in the Vatican
By Andrea Tornielli
It is open season on the "moles" who disclosed confidential documents. But behind the scenes there is a no-holds-barred fight between different factions It is open season on the Vatican moles who released (and continue to release) confidential letters and documents, one week after the explosive episode of "The Untouchables", an Italian investigative journalism program, conducted by Gianluigi Nuzzi, which was aired on Italian television channel LA7. Last Wednesday, the video revealed some confidential letters sent by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano (currently Nuncio to the U.S. and previously Secretary of the Vatican Governatorate) to the Pope and to Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone. The letters contain weighty revelations against some clergy and laity in the Holy See, who had been accused of stealing, and against some laypeople in Bertone's entourage. The poisonous atmosphere has intensified over the last few days following new developments: in the Italian daily Il Giornale, Mgr. Vigano was strongly disparaged for a legal dispute with family members over the management of an enormous family wealth (ˆ30 million) which he shares with a brother priest. The prelate wanted the brother to be declared incapable of managing said wealth, because he had allegedly been manipulated by a sister. A year ago, Il Giornale published a series of anonymous articles praising the current Secretary of State, calling him "admiral" of the "fleet of Benedict XVI," with words that were so excessively laudatory as to be embarrassing to him. The same anonymous author also wrote and published articles against Mgr. Vigano in the same paper, predicting his expulsion and calling attention to his nepotism (the prelate had indeed called for his nephew, a priest, to take up a post in the Secretariat of State). Last Saturday, the same newspaper again attacked the former Secretary of the Governatorate with an anonymous article (along with one mentioned above on Vigano's family problems) in which the prelate was accused of being behind the leaking of the letters to the media in the United States, presenting him as having betrayed the Pope. If we look beyond the simplistic assertion that a letter may be disclosed either by the receiver (and it is unlikely that the Pope or the Secretary of State did so) or by sender, the rapid and pointed assignment of responsibility to Vigano appears more and more dubious by the day. First of all, the letter sent to Bertone was clearly stamped "Received 9 May” by the official who received the letter. It must also be remembered that the "The Untouchables" show also displayed other unpublished and confidential documents - a note from IOR President Ettore Gotti Tedeschi Bertone on the problem of the ICI, the tax on Italian property, and an anonymous letter regarding the Auxiliary Bishop of Aquila, Giovanni D'Ercole - all of which seem to have come from the Secretariat of State. On 31 January, another Italian newspaper, Il Fatto Quotidiano, published a new letter unrelated to the Vigano case, to do with the application of anti-money laundering regulations for the Holy See's financial system, to make it transparent and update it in line with international standards - regulations that would not be considered retroactive. The fact that Vigano is not responsible for the leaking of these documents, shows that he is not the source of all the various documents leaked from the Vatican. There is also one logical consideration that proves this: the Nuncio to Washington is now in a very embarrassing situation. Although the international media present him as a fearless white knight, a standard bearer in the fight against corruption, he cannot escape the fact that the tone of these letters reserved for the Pope - and their publication after just a few months - create a handicap for his work as a Vatican diplomat, required by the duties of his office to maintain relations with the bishops. Above all, he must gather information on candidates for the episcopate, and be discreet with confidential communications between bishops and the Holy See. The first meeting between the new nuncio and the United States Conference of Bishops went well. But it is still too early to know how the U.S. bishops will react to the Vatican "Wikileaks” in the face of accusations made by Vigano in his letters and in those published by some newspapers against Vigano - news that is already being discussed in other parts of the world. The internal opposition to Bertone is well known - it has regrouped various "spirits" of the Wojtylian curia, which have worn themselves out trying to avoid the Vigano's promotion-removal of Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re and Agostino Cacciavillan. And we must not forget that Bertone's predecessor, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, left his post at the age of 78, after being severely and publicly criticized himself for an incident which implicated his nephew in a round of real estate sales in U.S. dioceses, together with controversial businessman Raffaello Follieri. The current Secretary of State will reach the same age next December. The Pope's esteem for him is well-known, and his replacement does not appear to be on the agenda at the moment. However, certain speculations making Bertone "Secretary of State for Life "and also" Papal Candidate" seem rather bombastic and astonishing. One thing is certain: the disclosure of letters attests to the ongoing clash of power between factions. It is not the Pope who is in crosshairs, as those who have used Benedict XVI as a shield to cover their mistakes in recent years, would have you believe. The man who is under scrutiny, is Cardinal Bertone, whose loyalty to Ratzinger has never been questioned, but whose management of the Secretariat of State has increasingly baffled many, including a number of Ratzingerian cardinals. The events of last year - from attacks on the Toniolo Institute, strongbox of the Catholic University, to the attempt to buy the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan - have raised concerns about the lay advisors the cardinal surrounds himself with as well. According to the daily newspaper Il Tempo, given the situation, it seems surreal to suppose that Bertone himself wrote the note that served as the basis for the meeting of the heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia, held last Saturday in the presence of the Pope, to tackle the problem of increased coordination between curial offices, as well as to avoid "leaks." The Secretary of State had complained about the blogs and their "passion for every last detail of church gossip, which undermines the prestige of the Holy See and sometimes hinders the climate of trust and collaboration among its various bodies." Once again, responsibility for the current situation would therefore be assigned to the journalists who disclosed the news. A rather curious revelation, especially because the Vigano case, with its anonymous articles, as well as other past and recent events (starting from the Boffo case - the director of the Italian Catholic daily Avvenire who was forced to resign after the publication of incriminating documents that were then found to be false), show however that there have been those – in ecclesiastical circles too – who in recent years have tried to use the media to their own advantage, to wage their own battles, to hinder or promote careers. But one gets the impression that the Holy See having been caught up in all the drama, is not aware of all this. This is judging by the devastating outcome on public opinion and the faithful, who are ever more impressed by the depth of Benedict XVI's message, but embittered by the emergence of inconsistent behaviour by the people who ought to be translating it into practice.
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