Pope Calls Cardinals to Vatican for Damage Control

Someone leaked documents highlighting yet more corruption in the Roman Catholic Church and the pope is furious. About the leaks, not the corruption.

WSJ/AP (“Pope Calls Cardinals to Vatican“):

Pope Benedict XVI convened a special meeting of cardinals Saturday to get their advice about how to deal with the scandal over leaked Vatican documents, another sign of the damage the leaks have done to trust in the Holy See’s governance.

Pope Benedict was already scheduled to attend a regular meeting of the heads of Vatican offices Saturday morning. The Vatican press office said he had added a second meeting later in the day with other cardinals in a bid to try to “restore a climate of serenity and trust” in the church.

And the Vatican said he would meet over the coming days with still more cardinals who will be gathering in Rome for a church feast day on Friday to “continue the dialogue with the people who share the responsibility of the church’s governance with him.”

The Vatican has been scrambling to cope with the leaks of hundreds of Vatican documents exposing corruption, political infighting and power struggles at the highest level of the Catholic Church. The pope’s butler has been arrested in the case, accused of aggravated theft after the pope’s own documents were found in his Vatican City apartment.

The Vatican is conducting two main investigations into the leaks: a criminal one headed by the Vatican gendarmes that led to the arrest of the butler, Paolo Gabriele, and an internal probe led by a commission of three cardinals tasked with investigating the scandal.

Last weekend Pope Benedict met with the cardinal’s commission to learn details of some of the two dozen people they have questioned.

In its statement, the Vatican said the regularly scheduled meeting with department heads, aimed at coordinating the Vatican’s work, was “today particularly important and urgent to show efficient witness to the union of spirit that animates the Curia.”

I think we have a good idea about that already.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. OzarkHillbilly says:

    coordinating the Vatican’s work, was “today particularly important and urgent to show efficient witness to the union of spirit that animates the Curia.”

    The only thing that animates the Catholic Church is the naked acquisition of power.

    And by “Catholic Church”, I mean everyone from Bishop on up the chain of command, not the many fine priests and nuns who work tirelessly to make life a little better for so many people.

  2. al-Ameda says:

    In its statement, the Vatican said the regularly scheduled meeting with department heads, aimed at coordinating the Vatican’s work, was “today particularly important and urgent to show efficient witness to the union of spirit that animates the Curia.”

    Translation: “We meet regularly with our legal counsel after which we re-estimate what will remain to support the Curia.”