ROME
The Guardian (United Kingdom)
Tom Kington in Rome
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 3 June 2012
Pope Benedict XVI may have been hoping for some respite from the scandal which has engulfed his papacy, with a visit this weekend to Milan, where he celebrated an outdoor mass for a million faithful and took in a performance of Beethoven’s ninth at La Scala opera house.
For the 85-year-old pontiff, the three-day trip outside the Vatican walls was a break from the Vatileaks scandal, which has seen his butler, Paolo Gabriele, arrested on suspicion of disclosing dozens of embarrassing letters alleging corruption and nepotism at the Holy See.
Gabriele is believed to be one of up to 20 whistleblowers trying to oust Benedict’s powerful prime minister, secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who has been accused of incompetence, covering up graft, and packing key Vatican posts with supporters.
The pope kept Bertone firmly at his side in Milan, sending a clear sign he is standing by his long-term collaborator, but the tension shows no sign of waning. On Sunday, La Repubblica published newly leaked Vatican correspondence with an anonymous covering note stating the whistleblowers still at large will not stop until Bertone – and the pope’s personal secretary Georg Gänswein – are kicked out.
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