UNITED STATES
Catholic News Service
By John Mulderig
Catholic News Service
NEW YORK (CNS) — The historic resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the headline-grabbing start of his successor’s ministry are certainly events worthy of close and careful analysis.
Unfortunately, “Secrets of the Vatican,” a PBS documentary purporting to provide just such an examination, turns out to be, in large part, both sloppy and one-sided.
A “Frontline” presentation, Antony Thomas’ film premieres Tuesday, Feb. 25, 10-11:30 p.m. EST (check local listings).
Thomas identifies three primary causes for Pope Benedict’s retirement, all of them scandalous: the plague of clergy sexual abuse, financial shenanigans at the Institute for the Works of Religion, aka the Vatican Bank, and the damaging release of secret documents that has come to be known as “Vatileaks.” It’s Thomas’ treatment of clergy sexual abuse that suffers the most from factual lapses — and that also displays the most bias.
An early indication that scrupulous attention to detail is not on the agenda here — and that an appealing Pope Francis is to be implicitly contrasted with his unacceptable predecessor — comes with the statement that the current pontiff was elected after “one of the shortest conclaves ever.” Yet the 2005 gathering of cardinals that selected Pope Benedict was just as brief; in fact, it ended about an hour sooner.
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