Vatican Discusses Leak Scandal

Press Association
June 23, 2012

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The Catholic Church has been scrambling to contain the damage caused by the leak of hundreds of Vatican documents

Pope Benedict XVI has convened a meeting of cardinals for advice on how to deal with the Vatican's leaked documents scandal.

The Pope was already scheduled to attend a regular meeting of the heads of Vatican offices.

The Vatican press office said he added a second meeting later in the day with other cardinals in an attempt to try to "restore a climate of serenity and trust" in the Catholic Church.

Over the coming days he will meet with still more cardinals gathering in Rome, for a church feast day on Friday, to "continue the dialogue with the people who share the responsibility of the church's governance with him".

The Catholic Church has been scrambling to contain the damage caused when the leak of hundreds of Vatican documents exposed corruption, political infighting and power struggles at the highest level of the Church.

Even the Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, is under arrest at the Vatican, accused of aggravated theft after the Pope's own documents were found in his Vatican City residence.

The leak is the subject of a criminal investigation headed by Vatican gendarmes, as well as an internal investigation led by three cardinals tasked with getting to the bottom of the scandal.

Last weekend Pope Benedict XVI met the cardinals' commission to learn details about some of the two dozen people questioned so far.

The Vatican press office said the regularly scheduled meeting with department heads aimed at coordinating the Vatican's work is "particularly important and urgent to show efficient witness to the union of spirit that animates the Curia (the papal court)".

The second meeting is attended by Vatican cardinals, as well as the archbishop of Sydney and the retired vicar of Rome: two long-time papal advisers. The Pope has also strengthened a panel of cardinals tasked with scrutinising the "organisational and economic problems of the Holy See", the Vatican said.