VATICAN CITY
Vatican Insider
The Vatican is still annoyed at the leaks of confidential proceedings to the media by U.S. cardinals. All cardinal electors are now in Rome: the Conclave nears
Giacomo Galeazzi
Vatican City
All 114 cardinal electors have now arrived in Rome so the College of Cardinals can finally decide on a date for their entry to the Sistine Chapel. During the Congregations, cardinals discussed thepossibility of beginning the election process Sunday or Monday. This morning the remaining few cardinal electors swore an oath of secrecy and in the afternoon the Conclave start-date could be announced. The arrival of cardinals Nycz (Poland), Lehmann (Germany), Naguib (Egypt) and Tong Hin (China), has marked the beginning of the X-Hour. “The decision can now legitimately be made,” said the jurist, Archbishop Sciacca who is assisting Bertone during the sede vacante period.
There is still no decision on the date but the Curia has imposed a media blackout so cardinals are not allowed to give information tot he press. Tensions have been rising in the past few days, leading to yesterday morning’s clash between “Romans” and “foreigners”.
The Dean of the College of Cardinals, Angelo Sodano and the Camerlengo, Bertone (who have formed an alliance against cardinals outside the Curia after eight years of mutual hostility) did everything in their power to contain the solid group of U.S. cardinals. In the name of transparency, U.S. cardinals had held a series of parallel news briefings with the press on the issues relating to the Conclave. The briefings were held at the Pontifical North American College where the cardinals are currently staying. For this reason on Monday Rigali, the U.S. cardinal who is closest to the Curia, was given the task, through Re, of letting his group know that these news briefings were inappropriate. On Tuesday, Sodano supporter Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo also had a go at urging them to stop: “Americans talk tot he press more because it’s their style, they are expansive.” A glasnost which violates a century-old tradition of discretion and stealthy caution. The American cardinals finally gave in to growing pressure from the Vatican, cancelling their umpteenth press briefing. The Vatican’s irritation came like a slap in the face in the midst of the Synod Hall. “Concern was expressed in the general congregation about leaks of confidential proceedings,” the U.S. cardinals’ spokesman Mary Ann Walsh later explained. Dolan’s 14:30 press conference was cancelled an hour before it was due to start.
“As a precaution, the cardinals have agreed not to do interviews,” Sister Walsh added, saying that complaints were mainly in relation to the cardinals’ interviews with the Italian media (in particular one report published by Italian daily La Stampa)who use some cardinals as sources. If U.S. cardinals came to Rome with the conviction that Benedict XVI’s butler was not the only one to blame for the leak of confidential Holy See documents but that poor Curia governance was also to blame, this has only strengthened everyone is mutually responsible for the their belief. The term “leaks” (like Wikileaks and Vatileaks), used twice by Mary Ann Walsh is not coincidental. Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi clarified that “everyone” in the College of Cardinals “has a shared responsibility in the process that is under way and each cardinal needs to be able to balance their duty of confidentiality with other duties.”
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.