VATICAN CITY The pope has transferred a top official from the Vatican's secretariat of state to Colombia amid swirling media speculation about the contents of a confidential report into the Vatican's leaks scandal.
Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, insisted Friday that the transfer of Monsignor Ettore Balestrero had been months in the works and had nothing to do with the leaks investigation or what the Vatican considers baseless reporting.
Balestrero was named undersecretary of the Vatican's Foreign Ministry in 2009 and, among other tasks, has been a lead player in the Holy See's efforts to get on the "white list" of financially transparent countries. Pope Benedict XVI on Friday named him ambassador, or nunzio, to Colombia.
Italian newspapers for days have been rife with un-sourced reports of the contents of the dossier, which was presented to Benedict in December. It was prepared by three cardinals after they investigated the origins of the leaks.
The Vatican has refused to comment on the media reports, which have claimed the dossier was a factor in Benedict's decision to resign. Vatican officials have repeatedly dismissed the reports as baseless.
Italian newspapers have suggested that Pope Benedict was shocked to learn from the cardinals' research of infighting among various factions in the Vatican's governing bureaucracy, the Curia. CBS News correspondent Allen Pizzey says some reports have suggested a homosexual lobby among church officials within the Curia. Newspapers have even claimed blackmail of a sexual nature as the factions vie for power.
Pizzey reports the cardinals' final dossier on the leaks scandal is expected to hit Pope Benedict's desk on Monday, but he's widely expected to leave it for his successor to address the problems detailed in the multitudinous pages.
The leaks scandal erupted after the pope's butler stole the sensitive internal letters to the pontiff and passed them off to a journalist, who then published them in a blockbuster book. The butler did it -- he admitted himself -- to expose the "evil and corruption" in the Vatican's frescoed halls that he believed was hidden from Benedict by those who were supposed to serve him.
Ordinary Catholics might not think that dysfunction in the Apostolic Palace has any effect on their lives, but it does: The Curia makes decisions on everything from church closings to marriage annulments to the disciplining of pedophile priests. Papal politics plays into the prayers the faithful say at Mass since missal translations are decided by committee in Rome. Donations the faithful make each year for the pope are held by a Vatican bank whose lack of financial transparency fueled bitter internal debate.
True, but you can't arrest the pope and his underlings, because what false prophet who would help usher in the antichrist as written in the book of revelation?
As a parent, I am concerned with any church, or organization, that isolates the children from their parents or guardians. It is a non-denominational problem. My children will sit right next to their mother and I when in worship. There is no need to take them down to the church basement for youth worship.
Can't figure why anyone would step up to defend this corrupt, outright-lying outfit. Hundreds of years of corrupt and secret shenanigans, endless backroom political conniving, condoning/protecting pedophiles, and claiming to be the gateway to one's eternal salvation to boot! What a mess... past time to close them down in the name of plain old common sense!
The Watergate of Vatican City. My heart goes out to all the abused fiscally and physically. My heart goes out to all the Catholics (I used to be one) that cannot bring themselves to leave the church. It's all they've ever known. Still they must acknowledge they have supported the evil through every tithe. No church or religion is perfect but outright evil is not of Christ but the Deceiver.
Pope Benedict will do a bit of housecleaning before the 28th, in particular he will move as many of those in the homosexual lobby in the Vatican out of positions of power as he can. They have done more than enough harm to the Church already.
cleric77, Until 8 PM Rome time on February 28th, the Holy Father has the full power and authority to do what he thinks is best for the Church. We have had enough of these homosexual ephebophiles - "chickenhawks" in the lingo of homosexuals - who have harmed children and families and harmed the Body of Christ.
Pope Benedict most certainly has, at this very moment, specific information that would allow him to act swiftly to remove those clerics in the Vatican curia who have acted against natural law, Canon Law, the gospel of Christ and the good of the Church.
Just to answer your question more directly, he is not a lame duck pope. He will be the Roman Pontiff until that moment comes on February 28th when he is no longer.
Statistics show over 50% of men who become priests of the Roman Catholic Church are gay. And almost all of them are sexually active.
Question: Are their victims usually healthy young males, who are developing a strong sex drive/urge?
Seems that Benedict has numerous enemies and few allies at the Vatican, and quite possibly in the wider church too. Whether self-made foes or not, it sounds as if he is largely isolated and an ineffective person who does not get along with many people.
He likely discovered this personality shortcoming during his tenure but also there may be a monstrous revelation/expose coming about pedo-priests, et that he wants to be clear of or some other sort of damaging news. Just a thought. Yeah, I know, he's old and frail but his mind is clear no doubt and sly as the rest of their crew there.
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They should take away their tax exempt status. Make em pay for the taxpayers investigations and legal process.
I knew the S was about to hit the fan.
We should get some popcorn.
They have done more than enough harm to the Church already.
Until 8 PM Rome time on February 28th, the Holy Father has the full power and authority to do what he thinks is best for the Church. We have had enough of these homosexual ephebophiles - "chickenhawks" in the lingo of homosexuals - who have harmed children and families and harmed the Body of Christ.
Pope Benedict most certainly has, at this very moment, specific information that would allow him to act swiftly to remove those clerics in the Vatican curia who have acted against natural law, Canon Law, the gospel of Christ and the good of the Church.
Just to answer your question more directly, he is not a lame duck pope. He will be the Roman Pontiff until that moment comes on February 28th when he is no longer.
Question: Are their victims usually healthy young males, who are developing a strong sex drive/urge?
Yep, that's the pattern.
Check out Barmasse, Kevin from the list at the bottom:
http://clergyfiles.la-archdiocese.org/listing.html
Sickening. And the Cardinal gets to vote for the new pope.