The Vatican has refused to comment on Italian press reports that an internal report on the “Vatileaks” scandal might have influenced the decision by Pope Benedict XVI to resign.
The daily La Repubblica reported that in their report to the Pope, a commission of 3 cardinals investigating the leaked papal documents had found evidence of a homosexual network within the Vatican, and hinted at the possibility that some Vatican officials were subject to blackmail.
“There will be no comment, denials or confirmation of what has been written in an Italian newspaper,” Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, told reporters during a February 21 briefing. However the papal spokesman urged reporters to be responsible in their handling of unsubstantiated rumors.
Father Lombardi said that the three cardinals had submitted their report privately to Pope Benedict, and it would be passed on to his successor. The three prelates who investigated the “Vatileaks” scandal and prepared a thorough report—Cardinals Julian Herranz, Jozef Tomko, and Salvatore De Giorgi—will not be giving interviews or divulging details regarding the contents of the report, he said. Cardinal Herranz, who chaired the commission, confirmed: “The Pope is the only person we have reported to on this question.”
La Repubblica claimed that in a lengthy report on the leaks, the cardinals had alerted the Pontiff to the existence of factions within the Roman Curia, including a powerful faction “united by sexual orientation.” Some members of that bloc, the cardinals reportedly said, may be vulnerable to “external influence” because of their activities. The Italian newspaper said that the report shocked Pope Benedict and contributed to his decision to resign.
Ignazio Ingrao, who covers the Vatican for Panorama magazine, backed the report by La Repubblica. He said that the cardinals’ commission disclosed “a network of alliances and acts of blackmail of homosexual nature in several areas of the Curia.”
Full Story: Italian paper says cardinals discovered homosexual network within Vatican
Source:Catholic Culture