Vatican intrigue hits new level with leak denial
Wednesday, 24 February 2010 12:30The Vatican denied recently that it leaked documents that led to the resignation of a prominent Catholic editor, intervening in a tale of ecclesiastical intrigue that has dominated Italian headlines for weeks.
The Vatican No. 2 issued a statement saying reports that Vatican officials leaked the documents were false and that Pope Benedict XVI himself “deplored these unjust and insulting attacks” that were “defaming the Holy See.”
The statement – unusual in its line-by-line denial of unsourced rumors – was confirmation that what had been a strictly Italian church scandal had reached the highest echelons of power in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace and that the pope clearly wanted to put an end to it.
The intrigue began last summer, when Il Giornale newspaper published reports based on what it said were court documents saying the editor of Avvenire, the newspaper of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, had been involved in a harassment case several years ago with gay overtones.
The revelations were initially seen as tit-for-tat retribution by Il Giornale, owned by Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s brother, against Avvenire. The Catholic paper had harshly criticized the premier for his purported sex scandals with younger women.
Avvenire’s editor, Dino Boffo, admitted he had been fined in a plea bargain agreement – the details of which have never been publicly released – but he denied making harassing phone calls. Amid the fallout though, he resigned, saying he wanted to spare his family and the church further humiliation.
The scandal resurfaced last week when Il Giornale’s editor said the document in question had been given to him by an “institutional” church official whom he trusted.
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