BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

Valli (born 1958) is the Vatican news anchor for Italian state TV's premier newscast TG-1. Like many of the Italian Vaticanistas, he also writes books on religious subjects and personalities. He has written three books about John Paul II. In 2010, he wrote a book on Benedict XVI entitled La verita del Papa: Perche lo attaccano, perche va ascoltato (The Pope's truth: Why they attack him, why he must be heard), which has been published in Spanish and Polish, as well. But he has also written a book each about Carlo Maria Martini and Hans Kueng more recently. So he's an 'equal-opportunity author'. He also wrote a totally inexplicable column last November mocking Benedict XVI's use of the 'Popemover' as evoking the image of a pagan idol placed on a pedestal(!) - something he didn't say when John Paul II used the same Popemover for the same purpose - to spare an aging (or infirm) Pope the unnecessary effort of walking a considerable distance just before he has to preside at a two-hour ceremony. Why is that objectionable in any way?

Shooting at Bertone
by Aldo Maria Valli
Translated from

March 2, 2012

'Lux in arcana', light in darkness. That is the title of the exhibit on the Vatican Secret Archives which Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was among the very first to visit before it opened Wednesday afternoon at the Capitoline Museums in Rome.

It may seem scripted but it's true. Here was the cardinal, appearing in the middle of a tempest provoked by crows targeting him with their release of confidential documents from his own files at the Secretariat of State.

Here he was, appearing in public, to take part at an event dedicated to historical documents guarded zealously in the deepest vaults of the Holy See.

Coincidence apart, the mystery of the crows continues. Who are these people moving in the shadows, and why? [Bertone's enemies, obviously. and to bring him down. That does not need any sleuthing. The more urgent question is why is it taking so long to identify them????]

'Follow the money', Deep Throat advised Carl Bernstein when the then rookie reporter from the Washington Post, along with his colleague Bob Woodward, was investigating the break-in by President Nixon's operatives into a Democratic Party office at the Watergate building.

That advise could also be useful to understand who the traitors may be at the Vatican. But besides the money motive, there would be revenge, as well. Someone (not necessarily one individual only) is greatly motivated to have the current Secretary of State depart the scene. Someone who has been hurt in his own interests - for money, power or career. [He/they could just as well be middlemen who are being used as instruments by such persons.]

Let's be clear about one thing. The Salesian cardinal, since he became the Pope's principal collaborator, has committed not a few errors. Since he loves football, we might say that if he were playing for bis beloved Juventus, he would be considered well outside the rankings. His first name is Tarcisio, like that of the legendary goalie Burgnich of rival Inter, but unlike the latter, he has a great propensity for kicking the ball into his own goal.

The last episode that has become public is quite incredible, and it happened less than a year ago. A Vatican Secretary of State (Bertone) writes a brother cardinal (Tettamanzi), who is Archbishop of the world's largest diocese (Milan), asking him summarily, in the name of the Pope, to leave the presidency of the administrative council of the Istituto Toniolo (which has always been, since it was founded, a most delicate economic and political plum for the Church in Italy), and informing him that he already has a replacement (former constitutional court judge Flick).

Cardinal Tettamanzi, incredulous at the contents of the faxed letter and its practical implications, does not answer Bertone but writes the Pope instead for clarification - and the Pope, after having listened to both cardinals separately, decides that things at the Toniolo should remain as is - no changes until the new Archbishop of Milan joined the Council. [Valli omits the important fact that Bertone had originally misrepresented the situation at the Toniolo to the Pope, accusing Tettamanzi of gross mismanagement, while the latter was able to show documented proof that the Toniolo did much better since he took over.]

Besides this, other serious slips had been made by the Secretary of State. For instance, his attempt to personally manage the relations of the Church in Italy with the Italian government (through frequent and inopportune dinners with Italian officials) and his earlier attempt (also failed) to designate the new leadership of the Italian bishops' conference after the Ruini era (the Pope named his own choice, Cardinal Bagnasco, a Ruiniano, and ironically, Bertone's successor as Archbishop of Genoa].

Then, there was Bertone's bid to have the Vatican acquire majority control of the San Raffaele Medical Center in Milan, which the Pope stopped in time (before the bid could be acted on).

Impulsive and impetuous, Bertone sometimes charges ahead, with his finger on the trigger, without seeming to have weighed all the risks and consequences of what he intends to do.

Nonetheless, one must say that Bertone also gets some good and even excellent marks on his report card. With his resolute style, he has supported decisively the Pope's line [as if he had a choice but to follow!] against abusive clergy (especially with regard to cooperating with civilian authorities).

He has also fought for the financial transparency that Benedict XVI has legislated in the Vatican, with eventual participation in European banking conventions and anti-money laundering measures.

He has introduced rigid norms in Vatican administration to clean out part of the 'filth' that Papa Ratzinger has so often denounced.

[But why should Bertone get extra marks for carrying out what the Pope wants? It's his duty to do that, in the same way as it is not his duty nor his place to take major initiatives on his own without the Pope's knowledge. None of the three initiative mentioned above originated from him, but from the Pope himself. And whatever 'rigid norms' he has introduced into the Vatican administration obviously do not include controlling access to confidential files and dealing with insubordinate, rebellious or downright treacherous personnel!]

To the outside world and even to the Pope, all the above would seem to be badges on Bertone's lapel, but they could also be precisely what motivates thoughts of revenge on the part of the crows or those who are pulling their strings.

The interested parties may feel directly affected in their activities - with practical consequences in loss of revenue or privileges - and have therefore decided to use the media to discredit Bertone and paint him into a corner.

Having friends or acquaintances in the Secretariat of State [or working there themselves], it would have been easy for them to get documents they could 'leak' to the media.

[If that is so, then what they have managed to release so far is rather thin and spotty, because they reveal no major scandal and have done no concrete damage:
- Vigano's scattershot charges were reportedly investigated internally and found to be 'unfounded';
- Vigano himself boasts he managed to cut down the contract price for the Nativity scene on St. Peter's Square almost in half;
- The Vatican did pass all the transparency legislation required by international convention;
- The anonymous memorandum is clearly worthless, even as an exercise in fiction; and
- The Pope foiled Bertone's attempt to oust Tettamanzi from the Toniolo.
Are we to assume that there could be major scandals in any yet-unpublished purloined letters????

As for Cardinal Bertone, he seems unable to learn from his mistakes. After failing to influence the Pope's choice of the CEI president, failing to take over from the Italian bishops their right to deal with the Italian government directly,, failing in his attempt to take over the Toniolo in March, he then proceeds with the cockamamie bid for the San Raffaele a few months later, only to be foiled again by the Pope - and all this behind the Pope's back (which is disloyalty in and of itself, even if no one doubts he feels loyal to the Pope.] Not to mention the fairly minor matter of appearing to have promised Vigano that he would eventually become President of the Vatican Governatorate, when appointments are purely the Pope's prerogative! Not at all a pretty file, but it almost seems like Bertone is Benedict's one big blind spot!]

Within the Apostolic Palace, the atmosphere is poisoned. {Says who? I wish journalists would not make such rash statements about things they could not possibly know!] No one can no longer trust the next man. Even those who are investigating the leaks are regarded with suspicion. [The guiltless would not; only the guilty would. And surely all the preceding statements is melodramatic hyperbole!]

In this respect, the crows have won. They can say they have achieved their purpose.

But Benedict XVI appears not to have allowed himself to be 'impressed' by the dust-up. [A very good way to describe this teapot-tempest, gives it the right perspective.]

As displeased as he may be about what is happening, he has kept calm. But using words as his weapon, he has launched admonitions against careerism and divisions in the very bosom of the Church. He has reiterated his appeal for the faithful - and the prelates - to abandon the logic of power in favor of service, and has tacitly indicated total confidence in his Secretary of State, apparently saying NO to all those who have recently tried to ask him to dismiss Bertone.

Benedict XVI has a sense of proportion, and he knows that this tempest too shall pass. He also knows that the crows can only fly so much and not to any great heights, that they can cause some trouble for a while but they must not be over-estimated.

Veteran Vaticanista Luigi Accattoli was right to call the culprit crow 'a midget crow'. It is possible other crows are following in the wake of the lead crow, to advance their own interests and perhaps make some profits.

The fact that the Pope will soon be 85 (and Bertone himself turns 78 this year) has led all this people to try to create the feeling of an imminent end of reign, even spreading rumors about the health of the Pope and his presumed incapacity, because of detachment, to manage any crisis. [Unfortunately, most Vaticanistas - let alone the general media - tend to forget (or fail to credit the fact) that Benedict XVI has come through all the various 'crises' of his Pontificate so far quite triumphantly, and in his own understated way, in which he lets all the fire and fury burn themselves out, confident that the truth and his own actions will, with God's grace, carry the day eventually. But the media forget all of that with every new 'crisis' that they generate against him.]

In fact, the gentle Benedict always looks beyond. Even if he may personally feel depressed by all that he must see and hear (power games have always been present in the Vatican, at various levels and with different protagonists), he knows he does not have to use a cannon to shoot down down midget crows. [But first unmask the traitors - whether they are crows, moles, vipers, actual midgets, or just pea-brained petticrats.]


The following takes a different perspective of Vatileaks, perhaps because it is written by someone of Italian descent for the UK's Catholic Herald. It is an angle that I have not seen any Italian Vaticanista use - perhaps because they are too close to the trees to see the forest. However, Gambi's introduction is not just woefully short of facts, but he also gets some basic facts wrong, and presents them in a tendentious way that is more misleading than helpful to the general non-Italian reader.

There is a bigger agenda behind Vatileaks
than just careerism in the Vatican
by Paolo Gambi

Friday, 2 March 2012

Did you know that the Italian Catholic bishops’ conference receives about €1billion a year from the Italian state through a tax exemption known as the 8×1000? [It is not a tax exemption It's an outright special compensation legislated by a bilateral Concordat which has the force of international law. The Italian bishops' conference is named in the law as the direct recipient.]

Did you know that the Italian bishops’ newspaper, Avvenire, received almost €6m in 2010, and several Catholic magazines have received more than €1m in the same year? [That's because these media are part of the legitimate activities of the Church in Italy, and so they get a share of the 0.0008% grant.]

Did you know that much of the Church’s real estate is not liable to the “ICI”, Italy’s property tax? [Thee tax-exempt properties are those that are used directly for religious, charitable and social non-profit activities of the Church, in the same way that similar properties belonging to other religious organizations used for the same purposes are tax-exempt.]

[Non-Italian readers may not be aware of any of the above but Italians are, very much so, and they have lived with it for decades. The 'otto per mille' is a 0.0008% (that's eight-thousandth of 1%) share from Italy's annual tax revenues that goes to the Church in Italy, through the Italian bishops' conference, as compensation by the Italian state since 1984 for all the Church properties confiscated by the state from the former Papal States upon Italian reunification in 1861. Before 1984, Italy had been the official and therefore state-supported religion.

Italian bishops publish balance sheets every year accounting for how they have spent the 'otto per mille' revenue - not just to support the bulk of Church activities in Italy (that is how the CEI media get a share of the money), including the salaries of bishops and priests, I believe, but also to help selected needy dioceses around the world.

Like all other religious non-profit organizations in Italy, Church properties used for religious, charitable and other non-profit purposes are tax-exempt. Any properties however which bring in revenue - buildings that are rented out or used for commercial activities - must pay commercial taxes. A recent ruling by the Monti government - which occasioned this latest debate round - clarified exactly what Church activities and categories are tax-exempt, and which are not.

Other than Cardinal Bagnasco's reference to it when he opened the winter meeting of the CEI in January, I chose not to post anything earlier in the Forum on the issue and its attendant debates, which we last heard in this fullblown form several years ago when then Prime Minister Prodi said that priests should preach from the pulpit against tax evasion because 30% of Italians were said to be chronic tax evaders.

Vatileaks began at the height of the public debate about the tex-esemption clarifications, which brought out all the latent and active anti-clericalism among secular Italians, led by the Italian media and the Italian political left. Through all the wild accusations made against the Church during that debate, Cardinal Bagnasco, CEI President, said consistently: "Tax evasion is a sin. The Church does not evade taxes she ought to pay".]

These are just some examples. There are others, too, that I imagine non-Italian Catholics do not know about. But are we aware of what all this means in terms of public life?

Let us grasp the nettle: when we deal with all these media attacks against the Vatican we must consider the power of the Italian Church. Yes, the so-called Vatileaks scandal is part of the internal war between factions of Vatican officials.

On the other hand, the reason why so much of the Italian media is keen on it is that many powerful groups want to reduce the influence of the Church in public life. There is a war inside, but there is one also outside. [And obviously, undermining the Church from within - which is the immediate effect of Vatileaks - makes it easier for external forces to attack her.]

If you read Italian newspapers and magazines and watch Italian television, most of the news about the Church depicts leakers, scandals, gossip and attacks. Some in Catholic circles just say: “That’s the way the cookie crumbles.” Others put the blame on unidentified demonic enemies who are plotting to erase the Church and destroy the world.

But why don’t we just admit that the Church is a real force in Italy, and the price of that power is to receive robust criticism. ]If you choose to enter the field you must play by the rules. And the power game is rough. It’s like rugby: you can’t be surprised if someone jumps on you.

[Gambi writes as though the Church in Italy has a less than civic, even recalcitrant, attitude towards the tax redefinition. That's unfair, because the Church in Italy has lived with the perennial Damocles's sword of secular hue-and-cry over the' otto per mille' for almost three decades now, and it's not as if the Church in Italy has not, like the Church everywhere, been aware that for many, the Church will always be a sign of contradiction to the logic of the world.]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 03/03/2012 14:27]