The Vatican has denounced as "criminal" a
new book of leaked internal documents that shed light on power
struggles inside the Holy See and the inner workings of its embattled
bank, and warned that it would take legal action against those
responsible.
Pope Benedict XVI has already appointed a commission of cardinals to
investigate the "Vatileaks" scandal, which erupted earlier this year
with the publication of leaked memos alleging corruption and
mismanagement in Holy See affairs and internal squabbles over its
efforts to comply with international anti-money laundering norms.
The publication Saturday of "His Holiness," by Italian
journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, added fuel to the fire, reproducing letters
and memos to and from Benedict and his personal secretary which the
Vatican said violated the pope's right to privacy.
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Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi reveals private Vatican
correspondence in a new book containing a collection of letters titled,
“Sua Santita (His Holiness).”
Nuzzi, whose coverage of Vatican affairs is scant, was responsible
for leaking two private letters in January that the Pope sent to the
current Apostolic Nuncio to the United States and former secretary of
the Vatican City Government, Archbishop Claudio Maria Vigano.
He also leaked other private letters from the Holy See, contributing
to a series of confidentiality breaches dubbed “Vatileaks” by the media.
The journalist is also known as the host of the television program
“The Untouchables,” and has been a collaborator with various Italian
newspapers, including Espansione, Il Corriere della Sera, Il Giornale
and Panorama. He is the author of the books “Vatican S.p.A.” and
“Metastasis.”
Last month, Pope Benedict XVI launched an investigation to determine
the source of the internal leaks by creating a special commission of
cardinals.
The group includes Cardinal Julian Herranz, president emeritus of the
Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Cardinal Josef Tomko, prefect
emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and
Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, Archbishop emeritus of Palermo in Italy.
According to the publisher Chiarelettere, the book was titled “His
Holiness” since “that is how the letters that are addressed to Pope
Benedict XVI begin.” The publishing house noted that apart from an
introduction by the author, the new book only features the leaked
letters, most of which have already been published or refer to past
events.
One leaked memo that emerged over the last few months concerns a
cardinal’s complaint about another cardinal who reputedly spoke of a
possible assassination attempt against the Pope within 12 months and
speculated upon his successor.
In January, an Italian television show broadcast private letters to
Pope Benedict XVI and Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone from
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, the former deputy governor of Vatican
City, who is currently the apostolic nuncio to the U.S. The archbishop
contended that other Vatican officials have conducted a smear campaign
against him because of his changes to purchasing procedures.
Other leaks center on the Vatican’s financial institution, the
Institute of Works of Religion, which is also trying to reform and
comply with international norms.
