Pope Benedict has established a commission of Cardinals, chaired by an Opus Dei troubleshooer, to investigate the leaks of sensitive documents to the media that allege corruption and mismanagement in the Vatican.
The statement, released yesterday by the Secretariat of State, says the purpose of the commission is “to undertake an authoritative investigation and throw light on these episodes.”
The Cardinals’ Commission will “act at all levels on the strength of its pontifical mandate.”
Benedict appointed three retired cardinals to the commission. The chairman is Opus Dei Cardinal Julian Herranz, the former president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and the other commission members are Cardinal Jozef Tomko, the former prefect of the Congregation for Evangelization; and Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, the former Archbishop of Palermo.
The Commission met for the first time on April 24 to establish procedures for their inquiry. No timetable has been given for their work.
The Vatican has been embarrassed by what has been called “Vatileaks,” the disclosure of a series of internal documents that have highlighted disagreements within the Roman Curia, with a particular focus on the Secretariat of State.
While some of the leaked material was of a gossip nature, other material included allegations of serious financial misconduct.
Sources
- VIS
- Reuters
- The Guardian
- Image: Times of Malta