Lajolo: “mgr. Vigano’s Suspicions Are Wrong”

Vatican Insider
March 8, 2012

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/articolo/lajolo-vigano-vaticano-vatican-13300/

Giovanni Lajolo

“Mgr. Vigano nurtured suspicions that were proven to be unfounded and went down the wrong track.” This statement was made by Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, former president of the Vatican Governorate, in an interview published on the blog Stanze Vaticane, edited by Fabio Marchese Ragona on the website of the Italian news channel Tgcom24.

Cardinal Lajolo was the first to sign the communique issued last 4 February in response to the accusations made in the letters written by the archbishop appointed Nuncio to the U.S. The cardinal stated that “Vigano saw that unfair comments were being made about him in some news articles and he felt deeply hurt by this.” The articles Cardinal Lajolo was referring to, had been published anonymously in the Italian daily newspaper Il Giornale.

“In his attempts to find out who was responsible - Lajolo went on to say - he started off with suspicions that were relativistic and unfounded and went down the wrong track. This led him to link his case to a broader framework, by making a series of analyses which a closer and impartial examination proved to be erroneous. I do not think it is possible to say he was punished. The office of Apostolic Nuncio to the United States is a highly prestigious role that gives him the opportunity to really prove himself.”

The seventy seven year old cardinal, who left his post to Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello last October, also spoke about the excessive sum spent on the manger for St. Peter’s Square in 2008: “There was no unjustified spending. The cost of that manger, which was registered at 546.000 Euro, included the installation of the Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square and of numerous other smaller mangers distributed across the Vatican; the Governorate’s technical services had also planned for the instalment of a new metal structure, a new lighting system and the purchase of new materials, mostly polystyrene. All these materials were used again in the following years. Obviously these mangers ended up costing less as some materials had already been bought before the architecture of the structures was simpler and they were significantly smaller in size.”

With regard to the so-called “Vatileaks” - the documents that were leaked in recent weeks – Cardinal Lajolo stated: “There are a number of possible interpretations. I myself believe that one of the Curia’s employees, frustrated by his ambitions, thought they could compensate by secretly raising a ruckus, contacting an acquaintance of theirs in the media world, who was only too willing to oblige. That this should take place just as the Church is preparing for the Year of Faith, is particularly disheartening. But faith will prevail.” The former president of the Governorate even ventured one other hypothesis on the leaked document issue: “It seems to me that of all the important things Benedict XVI does - and he does a lot! – the most important, is his effort to bring truth to a society that seems not only resigned but convinced that the truth is no longer reachable, transforming this conviction into indisputable dogma which it wishes to credit or impose as a basis for free living. By wrongly making everybody think that the Vatican is a boat without an oarsman, the “strategy of confusion” aims to discredit the force of the great message of the Pope and the Church’s government, by drawing attention away from the positive aspects and focusing on incidents that are certainly unpleasant, but occasional and minor. But this strategy will not prevail.”

With regard to the tensions and clashes that have emerged as a result of the memorials and documents that were published, the cardinal said: “The fact that evaluations that are different or even contrary to various practical questions within the Church and the Holy See, is not in itself bad or sinful; it is a legitimate process in the search, by leaders, for what is best. What is not legitimate is the fact that these differences are given irresponsible publicity and interpreted as expressions of “power struggles.” There are certain reports that must remain confidential, above all, for the protection of the individual as involved, so that they may express their own thoughts completely freely and also in order not to compromise the objectivity of the reports and not unfairly upset public opinion and particularly the opinions of faithful.”

Finally, Lajolo recalled that the Pope “steers the Church with a steady and calm hand, in a paternal spirit, without getting agitated or spurring controversy.” And about Cardinal Bertone, he said: “In as far as the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone is concerned, he rightly enjoys the Pope’s complete trust. Cardinal Bertone carries out his complex and difficult office with great humanity and a Salesian pastoralism, that some, unfortunately, are not able to understand. I would however like to remind everyone – particularly those who have a short-term memory – of the judgements made in relation to former Popes, or in relation to the unforgettable Cardinal Casaroli, the Secretary of State, during their life time. These judgements were not much kinder than the ones that are being made now by some media, but history corrected them.”