Italian daily La Repubblica has sensationally claims that
Pope Benedict's resignation was at least partly prompted by an internal
report prepared by three senior cardinals, alleging that various
lobbies, including a gay lobby, exercise an "inappropriate influence" in
internal Holy See affairs.
The newspaper suggests that such was
Benedict’s dismay when presented with the details of the report on
December 17th that it hardened his long-meditated decision to resign.
The internal report prepared by Cardinals Julian Herranz, Josef Tomko
and Salvatore De Giorgi had been commissioned by Benedict himself.
He
had ordered it in response to the so-called Vatileaks scandal which
culminated with the arrest and subsequent conviction last autumn of the
Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, found guilty of having stolen
confidential documents from the papal apartment.
In this morning's
article, it is claimed that the cardinals reported that various lobbies
within the Holy See were consistently breaking the sixth and seventh
commandments, namely "thou shalt not steal" and "thou shalt not commit
adultery".
The "stealing" was in particular related to the Vatican
Bank, IOR, whilst the sexual offences were related to the influence of
an active gay lobby within the Vatican.
Last week, when presiding
over the Ash Wednesday celebrations in St. Peter's Basilica, Pope
Benedict spoke of "divisions" which "besmirch" the face of the church.
In a famous homily at the 2005 Via Crucis Easter celebrations in Rome,
just days before the death of John Paul II, the then Cardinal Ratzinger
had spoken of the "filth" in the church, a comment interpreted by many
as a reference to the worldwide clerical sex abuse scandal.
However,
La Repubblica claims the cardinals' 300 page report speaks of
"Impropriam Influentiam" on the part of various lobbies, some of them of
a "worldly nature", reflecting an "outside influence".
The Rome daily
recalls the figure of papal gentleman, Angelo Balducci, accused three
years ago of being a member of a gay ring active within the Vatican and
involving choristers and seminarians.
The paper does not explain
the source of its information on the cardinals report nor does it
provide a direct quotation from any part of the report.
Rather it claims
that its findings are based on information received from an unnamed
Vatican source.
A Vatican spokesman this morning had no comment to make on the allegations.