"Vatileaks" include the Legionaries of Christ. Vatican threatens legal action

Friday, May 25, 2012

"Vatileaks" include the Legionaries of Christ. Vatican threatens legal action

Thursday of this week, the Vatican announced the sudden removal of the president of the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), otherwise referred to as "The Vatican Bank."

Apparently the Board voted unanimously of “no confidence” in Ettore Gotti Tedeschi. Anticipating the decision, he resigned. Gotti Tedeschi, whose primary job is head of Spain's Banco Santander's Italian unit in Milan, is also being investigated for leaking IOR confidential documents to investors. The Holy See is heading into a July meeting of Moneyval, a Council of Europe committee that will determine whether it has complied with international norms to fight money laundering and terror financing. Moneyval investigators have been looking at the transparency of IOR’s finances. Gotti Tedeschi is faulted for not keeping the board of superintendents apprised of the work of the bank, among other failings.

Although he was appointed to the position just over two years ago, rumor had it that Mr. Gotti was a pawn in the strategic moves of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State. Pope Benedict wanted Gotti to clean up the bank which has been the sources of controversy in terms of the transparency of its financial dealings.

Meanwhile, the Vatican Gendarmerie, headed by General Domenico Giani, claims to have identified the person who allegedly is the source of the leak of about one hundred of Pope Benedict’s personal documents to the Italian journalist, Gianluigi Nuzzi, who used them to publish a book called “His Holiness,” released in Italy last Saturday.

The controversial book seeks to give credence to rumors swirling in and around the Vatican. Some see the book as a direct attack on the Pope. The book seems to suggest that Pope Benedict was wrong in his choice of Cardinal Bertone as Secretary of State and that he was wrong not to force his resignation.

Many are troubled that someone would have leaked documents which were supposedly reserved to the Holy Father and related to particularly sensitive matters. Most of the documents relate to Italian affairs although documents related to the alleged cover-up of Father Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legionaries of Christ, are mentioned. Vatican finances, the Pope’s personal account number at the Vatican Bank, some of Cardinal Bertone’s dealings, the group known as “Communion and Liberation,” the Jesuits, scandals at the Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano, Italian politics, and the traditionalist Society of Pope Pius X, founded by French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, also feature.

The pope's butler Paolo Gabriele, was arrested in Vatican City on Friday, suspected of leaking the documents. It is said he had been under surveillance for weeks and was caught red-handed with documents he should not have had. Papal spokesman Federico Lombardi confirmed to Italian news service Ansa that Gabriele had been found "in illegal possession of confidential documents."

Gabriele is in the custody of the Vatican's secretive judicial system, which is separate from the Italian judicial system. His arrest took place just hours after Gotti Tedeschi was ousted for allegedly "failing to fulfill the primary functions of his office."

One of the abiding memories I have of my time in Rome and my (albeit limited) contacts with two Vatican Cardinals is the amount of gossip generated in such a relatively small operation as is the Vatican state. It strikes me as interesting that the two people involved in this week’s news are laymen. I find it strange that the Pope’s “butler,” apparently well liked and trusted in the Vatican household, would have been in a position to choose and leak specific selected documents which, in their totality, seem to make a strong case against the judgment of the Pope and which would seem to serve to fuel whatever rivalry exists between former Secretary of State and current Dean of the College of Cardinals, Angelo Sodano and the current Secretary of State, Cardianl Bertone. The Vatican says that Nuzzi's book is criminal and has warned that it intends to take legal action.

1 comment:

Ricardo Stone said...: The church has cancer and it is probably metastatic. It is time for the laypeople to take the church back from the corrupt, infighting, doddering old men who invoke the name of Christ in public and shed no light on their conduct in the dark.; June 5, 2012 at 8:40 AM

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The story that inspired "Driving Straight on Crooked Lines"

“A long time ago, a Monk set out on his travels accompanied by his assistant, a Brother. Night was falling when the Monk told the Brother to go on ahead to find lodging. The Brother searched the deserted landscape until he found a humble shack, in the middle of nowhere. A poor family lived in the hovel. The mother, father and children were dressed in rags. The Brother asked if he and the Monk could spend the night in their dwelling. “You are most welcome to spend the night,” said the father of the family. They prepared a simple meal consisting of fresh milk, cheese and cream for the Brother and the Monk. The Brother felt moved by their poverty and even more by their simple generosity.

When they finished eating, the Monk asked them how they managed to survive in such a poor place, so far away from the nearest neighbors and town. The wife looked to her husband to answer. In a resigned tone of voice he told them how they managed to survive. ‘We have one cow. We sell her milk to our neighbors who do not live too far away. We hold back enough for our needs and to make some cheese and cream-that is what we eat.”

The next morning, the Brother and the Monk said their good-byes and set out to continue their journey. After the Monk and the Brother had walked a few miles, the Monk turned to the Brother and said, “Go back and push the cow off the cliff!” “Father,” the Brother replied, “they live off the cow. Without her, they will have nothing.” The Monk repeated his order “go back and kill the cow.”

With a heavy heart, the Brother returned to the hovel. He worried about the future of the family because he knew they depended on the cow to survive. His vow of obedience bound him to follow the orders of the wise Monk. He pushed the cow off the cliff.

Years later, the young Brother became a Monk. One day he found himself on the same road where he found lodging so many years ago. Driven by a sense of remorse he decided to visit the family. He rounded the curve in the road and to his surprise, he saw a splendid mansion, surrounded by landscaped gardens, in the place where the hovel used to be. The new house exuded a sense of prosperity and happiness. The Monk knocked on the door.

A well-dressed man answered. The Monk asked, “what ever became of the family who used to live here? Did they sell the property to you?” The man looked surprised and said he and his family had always lived on the property. The Monk told him how he had stayed in a hovel on the same spot, with his master the old Monk. ‘What happened to the family that lived here?” he asked.

The man invited the Monk to stay with him as his guest. While they ate, the host explained how the family’s fortune changed. “You know Father, we used to have a cow. She kept us alive. We didn't own anything else. One day she fell down the cliff and died. To survive, we had to start doing other things, develop skills we did not even know we had. We were forced to come up with new ways of doing things. It was the best thing that ever happened to us! We are now much better off than before.”

This is a blog of the memoirs of an Irishman - from Dublin - who is a former member of the Legion of Christ.

"Driving Straight on Crooked Lines: How an Irishman found his heart and nearly lost his mind" is available on Amazon.com and other outlets.

I look back at the events in the Legion that made me who I am today. It's a fun read with a serious message: positive change can come from adversity.

When I first heard the story of the Monk and the cow, my job - a job I truly loved - was eliminated at the multinational corporation which employed me. My cow was taken away from me, through no fault of my own. The person who told me the story was suggesting I could find new peace, happiness and financial well-being in my adversity, just as the family did when the Monk stole the cow.

A few years later, revelations about the double life of Fr. Marcial Maciel the Founder of the Legionaries of Christ, killed another cow in my life and in the lives of tens of thousands of people.

There is a Spanish saying: "God writes straight on crooked lines". "My Legionary Life" is about trying to not get lost in the crooked lines of our own - or others - making. It is about discovering the straight lines that reveal the true purpose for which we exist.

It is the the story of the first Irish Legionary of Christ to set foot in Mexico. It begins in Dublin, Ireland, passes through Spain, then Mexico, Italy, the U.S.A and Gabon, in Central West Africa.

When I am not writing, I make a living as an international managment consultant.

The Monk who Stole the Cow

Friday, May 25, 2012