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 nor did it 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.”