Pope Benedict XVI Opens Convention of Bishops in Wake of Vatileaks Trial

The Telegraph
October 7, 2012

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/9592511/Pope-Benedict-XVI-opens-convention-of-bishops-in-wake-of-Vatileaks-trial.html

Pope Benedict XVI opened a crucial meeting of bishops from around the world on Sunday, just 24 hours after his butler was given an 18 month prison sentence for stealing confidential papers from the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI leads the mass of the opening of the Synod of bishops Photo: AFP/GETTY

Many Vatican observers said it was no coincidence that the trial of Paolo Gabriele, one of the biggest scandals to hit the Holy See for years, was brought to a neat conclusion the day before the start of the three week long synod.

Senior Vatican figures were anxious that the trial, which consisted of just four hearings lasting less than 10 hours, be dealt with quickly so that the Pope can concentrate on the synod and the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, which reformed key aspects of the Roman Catholic Church.

But the many lingering questions over the murky affair could yet tarnish the conference, in which Catholic leaders will discuss how to "re-evangelise" the West in the face of secularism and a sharp decline in church attendance.

One Italian newspaper, Corriere della Sera, published a list of 10 unanswered questions regarding the butler's theft and leaking of compromising documents, including whether the butler had done a deal with the Vatican not to speak freely about the scandal in return for a lenient sentence.

The fact that the father-of-three started stealing papal documents as far back as 2006 but only began to leak them in the last year was also odd, unless he had been awaiting instructions from someone complicit in the plot, the paper said.

The trial failed to delve into his true motives for stealing the documents, some of which were so sensitive that the 85-year-old Pope had personally marked them "to be destroyed", and the issue of whether he had accomplices or at least sympathisers.

In an anonymous television interview before his arrest in May he said "about 20" people in the Vatican were involved in his crusade to root out "evil and corruption" at the heart of the Church.

During his trial he told the panel of three Vatican judges: "It was not just me, in these past years, who gave documents to the media."

John L. Allen, a Vatican analyst and senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter in the US, told The Daily Telegraph: "It's abundantly clear that they wanted to get the trial out of the way before the start of the synod."

"All kinds of questions remain. Gabriele said in his testimony that he had contact with senior people in the Vatican, but we don't know whether they approved of his actions or helped him.

"He also said he acted because he felt the Pope was not fully informed of problems in the Vatican. Is that true, were people withholding information? We don't know.

"My hunch is that this will remain another big mystery, such as the one over who killed Roberto Calvi." Calvi was an Italian financier nicknamed "God's banker" who was found hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1982.

Thomas J. Reese, a Vatican expert at the Woodstock Theological Centre at Georgetown University in Washington, also said the trial failed to address many mysteries about the "Vatileaks" case, such as why Mr Gabriele apparently stole a gold nugget and a cheque for 100,000 euros from the Pope.

"Maybe what the butler said is true. But his explanation places himself in the most positive light and in the best position to get a pardon," he wrote in a commentary.

After his conviction and sentencing, Mr Gabriele was allowed to return to house arrest in his Vatican apartment but the Pope is widely expected to pardon him for his betrayal.

He has been drawing his salary since his arrest in May and could even be allowed to continue to work in the Vatican, although not nearly as close to the seat of power as before.

The Pope opened the synod, which brings together 260 archbishops, bishops and other senior clerics and takes place every few years, by being driven around St Peter's Square in his Popemobile as crowds of pilgrims waved their national flags.

The theme of the synod is "new evangelisation" – Vatican code for trying to tempt back lapsed Catholics who may have been put off by the Church's conservative stance on issues such as women priests, divorce and contraception.

Once the synod is over, a second Vatileaks trial is expected to get under way – that of Claudio Sciarpelletti, a Vatican computer technician who is accused of aiding and abetting the butler. A date for that trial has not been set.