Better late than never, but not soon enough! The media in Italy and Poland had another field day yesterday (June 18) on a report originating from Poland that the Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops had lifted the canonical restrictions placed on a bishop disciplined in 2002 after accusations of sexual abuse. It seemed a most appetizingly juicy morsel to feed their obsessions after more than 2 months now that MSM has failed to come up with any new 'story'. Their immediate question was: Did Benedict XVI approve the move? Not whether the report was true at all. And yet again, the Vatican Press Office failed to respond quickly. Now it has...
Finally, Vatican denies report
that a Polish bishop dismissed
in 2002 for sexual offenses
has been 'rehabilitated'
by Salvatore Izzo
VATICAN CITY, June 19 (translated from AGI) - Vatican press director, Fr. Federico Lombardi, says "it is not true that the Holy See has modified or even lifted the restrictions" imposed in 2002 on the then Archbishop of Poznan, Julius Paetz, who resigned after accusations of sexual molestation levelled against him by some seminarians.
Responding to questions from newsmen on reports that had appeared about Paetz, Lombardi also said it was not a question of 'rehabilitation', but that "correspondence with Rome had to do only with whether he would be authorized to preside at a public liturgy when invited by a parish priest if there was permission from the local bishop".
"The criteria and restrictions set in 2002 and followed to date will not be modified", Lombardi pointed out.
He added that the corollary report that current Archbishop of Poznan, Mons. Stanislaw Gadecki, had threatened to resign if Paetz were 'rehabilitated' is "totally unfounded - as his spokesman said officially yesterday".
[The rumor about Paetz's rehabilitation was accompanied by speculation that Cardinal Re, outgoing Prefect of Bishops, was doing a last favor for Paetz, who worked closely with him when both were ranking bureaucrats in John Paul II's Secretariat of State. But this also implied that Re could not have done so without the approval of Benedict XVI... and Marco Politi, among others, rushed to judgment and immediately wagged fat accusing fingers!
When the story first came out yesterday, Fr. Lombardi only had to lift the phone and ask Cardinal Re - what is this all about? Having found out what it was, he could have issued a statement right away, without waiting to be asked!
I am learning at last that - unless it appears to affect Benedict XVI directly and in a major way - not to post every rumor or speculation that comes out until the dust settles a bit. Especially about Vatican intrigue and battling bishops (as in Germany).
The other continuing story that has occupied Italian media these days is about the supposed involvement of the previous leadership of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (familiarly known by its old name Propaganda Fide), under Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, in 2001-2005, in questionable business deals with high-ranking Italian bureaucrats and favored Vatican contractors (one of them was, until recently, a prominent Gentleman of His Holiness under John Paul II). This is a significant question because Propaganda Fide over the centuries has amassed considerable assets and gets substantial contributions from which it finances the activities of missions around the world.
Cardinal Sepe, wnom Benedict XVI replaced at Propaganda Fide with Indian Cardinal Ivan Dias, and named Archbishop of Naples, has said he has nothing to hide. (Sepe, from all accounts, has done an outstanding job in Naples, a difficult challenge for anyone.)
In recent weeks, Cardinal Dias, who is said to have asked the Holy Father for early retirement (he does not turn 75 until next year) because of poor health, has met quite often with Benedict XVI, and there is speculation now in the Italian media that he may get his wish.
Dias has nothing to do with the corruption investigations which concern his dicastery before his time; and in fact, he was chosen to succeed Sepe precisely because, apart from his obvious gifts (he was Archbishop of Bombay, with a reputation for holiness), he also was free of any connections with the Curia or with the Italian bureaucracy.]
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/06/2010 14:29]