UNITED KINGDOM
Channel 4 News
Allegations of corruption within the church, child abuse scandals, priestly celibacy, and the rise of militant Islam – just some of the major issues confronting Pope Francis as he begins his papacy.
Last night Pope Francis stepped on to the balcony of St Peter’s basilica to cheers of joy and shouts of “Viva il papa!”, writes Abigail Frymann, The Tablet’s online editor. However, it will not be long before he has to face a bulging in-tray and myriad demands for his attention.
First of all, for a church that has been hit by variety of scandals, is a need to restore trust. Pope Francis has been left a top secret report that Benedict XVI commissioned from a trio of elderly cardinals, which investigated what lay behind the “VatiLeaks” scandal, involving information leaked by the Pope Emeritus’ butler, who was jailed for passing confidential papal papers to a journalist.
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