VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
“Vatican Insider” interviews Professor Giovanni Maria Vian, director of Vatican daily broadsheet “L’Osservatore Romano” about the Vatileaks scandal and Benedict XVI’s commitment and actions to restore calm
Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican City
Professor, you are director of L’Osservatore Romano and a historian of Christianity. Does the Vatileaks scandal prove that Joseph Ratzinger is under attack?
“Benedict XVI does not run away from problems; he faces them without fear. He is going through an uphill struggle at the moment. His image was distorted right from the start. The public presented him as a great German inquisitor, a panzerkardinal, a German shepherd. Then other hurdles sprang up along the way; for example, the misunderstanding of his lecture in Regensburg, the forgiveness he granted to Lefebvrian bishop Richard Williamson, the controversy over the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS and the “perfect storm” created by the sex abuse scandal. The Pope showed his way of doing things in his handling of the Williamson case. He wrote a letter resembling that written by Saint Paul to the Galatians and managed to turn the situation around. He did not allow everything he had done to bring the Catholic Church closer to Judaism be ruined. He lamented that he was represented in a way that was far from the truth.”
How did the Pope react to the confidential document leak?
“When the Vatileaks scandal broke out, Benedict XVI did not deny the problem but deduced that the scandal was used to describe an unreal situation in an unclear way, when in actual fact, the vast majority of Vatican officials are loyal and pay honest service to the Pope and to the Holy See. A burst of pride, explained further by Angelo Becciu, Substitute of the Secretary of State. The Holy See chose a distinguished jurist, Cardinal Julian Herranz and two other highly prudent cardinals, Tomko and De Giorgi, to shed light on the document leak case. So the Holy See is treading carefully, respecting judicial procedures completely. Three cardinals who are over 80 and cannot take part in the next conclave are in charge of the investigations. They are therefore completely free before God and their conscience. They only answer to the Pope.
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