The father of the Pope’s personal assistant, who is in custody after stolen Vatican documents were found in his home, has said he hopes his son’s “sacrifice” will help the Church rid itself of corruption. Andrea Gabriele described his son Paolo as a person of “absolute honesty . . . great generosity and moral integrity” Read more
Gossipy rumors have been mixed with more than a pinch of midsummer madness and served, stirred but not chilled, as a James Bond-like intrigue cocktail for Vatican conspiracy theorists who like to keep a glow on their paranoia. The main ingredients are the leaked confidential papers of Pope Benedict XVI in an incident that has Read more
A German satirical magazine’s attempt to poke fun at Pope Benedict over the Vatileaks scandal has resulted in legal action — from the Pope himself. A law firm in the German city of Bonn was contracted to act for the Pope against Titanic magazine for front and back covers that, in the words of a Read more
The mood at the Vatican is apocalyptic. Pope Benedict XVI seems tired, and both unable and unwilling to seize the reins amid fierce infighting and scandal. While Vatican insiders jockey for power and speculate on his successor, Joseph Ratzinger has withdrawn to focus on his still-ambiguous legacy. Finally, there is clarity. The Holy See has Read more
The Vatican’s under-fire top official, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, says there is great unity in his department. “Personally, I don’t sense any sign of cardinals or church personalities being involved in any conquest of some phantom power,” he said. Bertone admitted the Secretariat of State is facing difficult times, but went on the Read more
Pope Benedict XVI is getting a briefing from the three cardinals he appointed in April to investigate a series of leaked Vatican documents that have cast the top governance of the Catholic Church in a poor light. The cardinals were given a broad mandate to interview Vatican officials across the board to get to the Read more
The Holy See, a sovereign state, has hit back at Italian authorities for taking documents intended for the Pope, during a raid on the home of ousted Vatican Bank chief, Ettore Gottti Tedeschi. Calling for Italy to respect the law of an independent state, the Vatican says it expects Italian authorities to respect the Vatican’s status in Read more
In moments of crisis, there’s a natural desire among many Catholics to rally around the flag, meaning to show support for the church and the pope. It’s not about denial, because Catholics are nothing if not sober realists about the church’s failures. It’s instead about saying to the world that despite it all, there’s still Read more
Italian police searching the home and office of Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the former head of the Vatican’s bank, have found a confidential dossier relating to his three-year tenure as the bank’s president, a judicial source said on Thursday. The dossier appeared to have been put together by Gotti Tedeschi to defend himself from allegations over Read more
The pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele has implicated two cardinals in the “Vatileaks” scandal, reports London’s Daily Telegraph. The cardinals have not been named and the Daily Telegraph has not cited any evidence to substantiate the report. Gabriele, who was arrested two weeks ago and charged with “aggravated theft” is in custody in the Vatican police station. A Read more