What If the Vatican Revokes Its Trust in Viganò?
By Andrea Tornielli
The Governorate's release and Father Lombardi's earlier statement: the nuncio's position in the United States is more and more poised The long seven-point statement with which Saturday, February 4, today's and yesterday's highest authorities in the Vatican Governorate have denied and dismissed as unfounded the allegations contained in the letters sent by archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò to the Pope and to cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has rekindled the world spotlight on a story that had gone off in terms of media. The two cardinals, Giovanni Layolo and Giuseppe Bertello, respectively former and present president (the latter was made cardinal on February 18), together with Giuseppe Sciacca, current secretary of the Governorate, and Giorgio Corbellini, former assistant secretary of the Governorate, have signed a detailed defence in which they state they do not wish to enter into the details of individual allegations submitted by Viganò, though belying them one by one, their evident purpose being the reaffirmation of the good name of the Governorate and of people working there. Reading the last statement, the current nuncio to the United States, former general secretary of the Governorate from 2009 to 2011, appears to the Vatican as a person who saw "corruption", theft and inflated contracts where there were none. Someone who has levelled random accusations, naming names of exemplary people who proved innocent. Someone who denounced conspiracies and schemes aimed at his dismissal, also enacted through press campaigns, with "inspired" anonymous articles whose paternity, according to the internal investigation and disciplinary committee, proved "unprovable". On January 26, after "Gli Intoccabili" (The Untouchables), the TV programme hosted by journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, was broadcast on Italian La7 network, Father Federico Lombardi made a lengthy statement wanted by the Secretariat of State. The evening before, Nuzzi disclosed the contents of confidential letters sent by Viganò to the Pope and to cardinal Bertone and commented on the story with an interview to bishop Corbellini, who, albeit cautiously, appeared to endorse the framework that emerged from the letters , but now subscribes to the letter of the Governor, thus backing away from Viganò's allegations. The journalist also interviewed cardinal Velasio De Paolis, former president of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs of the Holy See (i.e., the body responsible for overseeing budgets), and hosted in his broadcast professor Gian Maria Vian, director of Italian newspaper "L'Osservatore Romano". In his statement, Lombardi was rather hard on the TV programme, likened to a particular type of "biased" information about the Vatican and the Catholic Church, and foreshadowed a possible legal action. In his statement, Lombardi also explained that the fiscal consolidation of the Vatican State was not only due to Viganò's improved management, but to a team effort that involved not only the president of the Governorate itself, but also the Vatican Museums. While not denying the evidence of "discussions and tensions, understandable differences of opinion", Father Lombardi challenged the exaltation of the "negative aspects", which ended up presenting the governance structures of the Church as "deeply affected by quarrels, divisions and interest struggles." Significantly, Lombardi concluded his statement with words of esteem and confidence towards Viganò: "I must say again and firmly that the award of the task of nuncio to the United States to Monsignor Viganò, one of the most important tasks of the entire Vatican diplomacy, is indubitable proof of the Pope's esteem and confidence towards him, given the importance of the United States and of their Catholic Church." The Vatican spokesman's statement was the result of an internal discussion: not all were in favour of publishing a position statement that would attract global media attention more than the TV broadcast did. For instance, it is remarkable that, in the same afternoon's (January 26) issue of "L'Osservatore Romano", not a single line of Lombardi's articulated denial was published. The story could not, however, be considered closed. First because, after the TV broadcast, Italian newspaper "Il Fatto Quotidiano" published the integral text of Viganò's letter to Bertone, followed by other IOR-related confidential documents. And then because another Italian newspaper, "Il Giornale", published once again the anonymous columnist who wrote articles against Viganò a year ago, now accusing him of having betrayed the Pope and of being the brains behind media disclosure of confidential letters. This position was initially supported by several Vatican sources after the episode of "Gli Intoccabili". Against this attribution, there is the fact that the published letters were stamped "Received on (date)". This stamp is affixed by the office of the Secretariat of State, therefore the published material was not the sender's copy. Moreover, one must consider the disruptive and embarrassing effect of that publication on Viganò himself, being engaged in a diplomatic mission in the U.S. Here lies the essential difference from Father Lombardi's previous statement: the release issued on February 4 appears as a repudiation of Monsignor Viganò. There are no explicit positive comments about his accomplishments in the management of contracts; the only relevant passage refers to "transparency and rigor, laudably pursued during the previous presidency", in which, of course, the same Viganò was involved, along with his superior, Giovanni Lajolo. The backing away represented by this last statement is striking, since the Holy See entrusted Viganò the management of its diplomatic staff for ten years, and today accuses him of moving totally unfounded and slanderous allegations. Before working for the Governorate, the prelate in fact worked for the Secretariat of State. Many now wonder why the archbishop was sent to the White House and to the American episcopate, having to deal with sensitive files relating to the appointment of new pastors of American dioceses. And many are questioning how well he can continue to act as a trusted representative of the Pope in the United States, after the Vatican expressed so negatively about him. The uniqueness of yesterday's press release - the consequences of which must have been carefully evaluated not only by its signatories, but also by higher authorities - lies precisely in this unstated, though obvious, revocation of trust in the diplomat after a few months' service in Washington. What will happen now? It's not easy to answer. At the moment, all hypotheses remain open: dismissal or agreed resignation? Or, again, renewed confidence and esteem towards the nuncio? The only consequence that is hard to imagine is pretending the repudiation of February 4 never happened. In any case, the questions on Viganò's role, on his letters' content, on his departure from Rome and on the clash which undeniably occurred between the archbishop and what an anonymous article on "Il Giornale" called cardinal Bertone's "secular and ecclesiastical structure", keep on raising more questions in ecclesiastical circles, inside and especially outside the Vatican.
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