The Church is the loser in this ugly war between Vatican officials - Catholic Herald
" You could be forgiven for thinking that the Borgias have returned to
the Vatican. Consider what has happened in the past few weeks: a fierce
internal battle in the Roman Curia has spilled into the public square.
Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State, is desperately trying
to defend his position while being besieged by many who want him to
resign. His enemies appear to be led by the “old guard” who were ousted
after the departure of Cardinal Bertone’s predecessor, Cardinal Angelo
Sodano.
The “Viganò affair” – in which letters alleging internal
corruption written by Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, then a Vatican
official, were leaked – is just the tip of the iceberg. But the affair
shows the preferred weapons in this fight: smear campaigns in the
Italian media, confidential letters sent to anti-clerical journalists
and damaging behind-the-scenes gossip. Those who were hindered by
Archbishop Viganò’s tight financial controls and by his campaign against
corruption used the media to seek his removal. When Archbishop Viganò
was removed his confidential letters were leaked, creating an
international scandal.
The position of the Holy See on the matter
is still, unfortunately, unclear. Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi
tried to defend Cardinal Bertone, describing the the Italian television
news programme that revealed Archbishop Viganò’s letters as “partisan”
and “partial and banal”. Fr Lombardi suggested that Archibishop Viganò’s
appointment as apostolic nuncio to the United States was “proof of [the
Pope's] indubitable esteem and confidence”. A statement from the
Governatorate of the State of Vatican City, where the archbishop had
served, described suggestions of financial corruption as “erroneous
evaluations” and “fears unsupported by proof”.
But how can
Archbishop Viganò enjoy the Pope’s “indubitable esteem and confidence”
if he had made such a major error, as is claimed? Has he been sent to
America as a reward, as Fr Lombardi seemed to say, or to remove him from
the Vatican’s inner circle of power holders?
Nobody in the Curia
seems to have heeded the Holy Father when, some years ago, he addressed
the world’s bishops with these words from St Paul’s Letter to the
Galatians: “If you go snapping at one another and tearing one another to
pieces, take care: you will be eaten up by one another.”
So the war has begun. But regardless of who wins, the Church loses. "
No comments:
Post a Comment