Today, the Vatican is reeling from the arrest of Pope Benedict's butler.
From the Chicago Tribune: The Vatican faces a widening scandal that in one short week has seen
Pope Benedict's butler arrested, the president of its bank
unceremoniously dismissed and the publication of a new book alleging
conspiracies among cardinals. It was a poisonous Pentecost
Sunday for the pope, who likely had the tumultuous events of the past
week on his mind as he celebrated a mass in St Peter's Basilica on the
day regarded as the birthday of the Church.
On Saturday his personal butler, Paolo Gabriele, 46, was formally
charged with stealing confidential papal documents in the scandal that
has come to be known as "Vatileaks". Some of the documents allege
cronyism and corruption in contracts with Italian companies.One prominent cardinal, illustrating the growing emotion of the debate
in Vatican circles, wrote in an Italian newspaper that the pope had
been betrayed just as Jesus was betrayed 2,000 years ago.The
scandal, which has been brewing for months, has hit the very heart of
the Roman Catholic Church. Gabriele - now known in Vatican statements
as "the defendant" - was until Wednesday night the quiet man who served
the pope's meals, helped him dress and held his umbrella on rainy days.The pope made no reference during his two public appearances on Sunday
to the scandal or the arrest, which aides said had "saddened and
pained" him."I feel very sad for the pope. This whole thing is
such a disservice to the Church," Carl Anderson, head of the Knights of
Columbus charity group who is also a member of the board of the Vatican
bank, told Reuters.The night before the Vatican announced an
arrest as part of its investigation of the leaks, it was rocked by the
sudden ouster of the president of its bank, formally known as the
Institute for Works of Religion (IOR)....
While news of Gabriele's arrest has filled pages and pages of newspapers in Italy and beyond, the Vatican's own newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, has ignored the story.Some say this may be because the paper itself has been an instrument in
a power struggle involving reciprocal mud-slinging between allies and
enemies of Cardinal Bertone."This is a strategy of tension, an
orgy of vendettas and pre-emptive vendettas that has now spun out of
the control of those who thought they could orchestrate it," Church
historian Alberto Melloni wrote in the Corriere della Sera newspaper.The leaked documents included letters by an archbishop who was
transferred to Washington after blowing the whistle on what he saw as a
web of corruption and cronyism, a memo that put a number of cardinals
in a bad light, and documents alleging internal conflicts about the
Vatican bank.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-vatican-butler-scandalbre84q0bf-20120527,0,7022731.story
This is like a soap opera of mystery and intrigue along with betrayal, though the betrayal is not like when Judas betrayed Jesus.
I believe the money problems go throughout the entire Catholic Church, from the Church level to the Vatican. Look how the case of Father Kevin McAuliffe was handled by the Church. First, McAuliffe was never defrocked, he was allowed to go into the federal court system instead of the Nevada court system and he was never charged with theft, after he stole about $650,000.
And then you have had scandals at the diocese level in many dioceses because of theft, neglect and the Church sex scandal.
Finally, at the Vatican level, they say the the finances are so screwed up that there is no possible way to even audit the finances.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out but I am sure this will play out as a soap opera with many cast of characters.
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3 hours ago
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