Will Pontifical Secrecy Be Removed from the “relationem”?
By Giacomo Galeazzi
The Pope will meet with the three-man commission of inquiry into the Vatileaks affair at the beginning of next week. The Pope will thank them for the work they have done for the good of the Church and could remove the pontifical secrecy status from their report so that cardinals can examine it during the Conclave. The investigation report prepared by the three “wise men” (the over-eighy-year-old cardinals Julian Herranz, Jozef Tomko e Salvatore De Giorgi) is proof that that filth Joseph Ratzinger talked about in his famous Goof Friday speech in 2005, does indeed exist. Filth which the Pope was not able to fully get rid of and which is even present within the Roman Curia, as demonstrated by the theft of Benedict XVI's confidential letters from the papal apartment. Speaking to Radio 24, Herranz said: “The Pope is the only person we have reported to on this question. Of course there was talk of this being the reason for the Pope's resignation but I believe we must respect people's individual conscience. An individual's conscience is a sacred part of every man; decisions are made deep within one's conscience and as such they should be respected.” Regarding the Pope's denunciation of the disfigured face of the Church during the Ash Wednesday ceremony, Herranz remarked: “ Of course there are divisions; there always have been, just as there has always been violent opposition to various ideologies; but these have an influence on things.” According to Herranz, the new Pope will have to follow in the steps of his predecessors, get to know and love Christ and evangelise. “The personality of the next Pope, his nationality, his knowledge of languages and his age will be taken into consideration but will not be decisive in the cardinals' choice.” Meanwhile, the Holy See is denying that the Vatileaks affair is what caused the Pope to resign. The Pope's determination was not in any way influenced by the Vatileaks scandal – Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano assured readers -. The case did not perturb the Pope and or lead him to feel the weight of his ministry, even though he did find the whole affair incomprehensible. For the Pope, it was important, however, that the case be resolved through an independent justice system in the Vatican, without the interference of a monarch.” Today, Fr. Lombardi observed that the Commission of Cardinals that was put in charge of investigating the Vatileaks scandal “did its job, prepared its report and delivered it directly to the Holy Father.” “We should not be influenced by all the inferences, fantasies and opinions that are expressed on this issue.” “Do not expect comments, confirmations, denials on specific points,” the Vatican spokesman said. Fr. Lombardi also said he personally would not be making any comments or contesting any points “which remain the responsibility of those who write such things.” He also drew attention to an article published in an Italian newspaper which claims that the Pope will meet with the Commission of Cardinals on the last day of his pontificate and that the Wednesday General Audience will take place in the Basilica of St. Mary Major, in Rome. Fr. Lombardi pointed out that there is no mention of either in the Pope's schedule which has just been published. He used this as an example to illustrate that “if one reads these few lines, it becomes apparent that whoever wrote these things, is not competent at dealing with Vatican affairs.” The Vatican spokesman also added that “whilst it is normal that numerous comments are going to be written regarding current events in the Church, exercising pressure, presenting situations as conflicts and grouping various figures this is to be expected in a context like this. But in most cases, the situation is seen from a perspective that is totally unrelated to the Church's.”
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