VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
The Secretariat of State’s tough statement and Fr. Lombardi’s comments: “There is slander and malicious gossip going round, against the Church’s leadership”
Vatican Insider staff
Rome
The Holy See’s Secretariat of State has issued a statement condemning attempts to condition cardinals ahead of the Conclave, through the publication of “news reports…which are often unverified or not verifiable, or even false, even subsequent damage to people and institutions.”
The statement issued by the Vatican Secretariat of State and published by Vatican Radio goes on to say: “The freedom of the College of Cardinals, which alone, under the law, is responsible for the election of the Roman Pontiff, – has always been strongly defended by the Holy See, as a guarantee of a choice based on evaluations solely for the good of the Church.”
“Over the centuries, – the text continues – the Cardinals have faced multiple forms of pressure exerted on the individual voters and the same College, with the aim of conditioning decisions, to bend them to a political or worldly logic.”
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.