VATICAN CITY
National Catholic Reporter
Fri, 10/05/2012
by
John L. Allen Jr.
All Things Catholic
The 25th Synod of Bishops begins Sunday, this one dedicated to “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.” New evangelization is the apple of Pope Benedict XVI’s eye, so the synod, held every couple of years or so since 1967, is being touted by the Vatican, along with the Year of Faith that opens Oct. 11, as the biggest happening of the fall.
In all honesty, at least from a media point of view, it’s not even the biggest Vatican event happening right now. That distinction belongs to the trial of Paolo Gabriele, the former papal butler charged with being the mole at the heart of the Vatican leaks scandal. An initial verdict could come as early as Saturday. …
Will the synod be overshadowed by the butler’s trial?
Technically no, because if the trial wraps up tomorrow it’ll be out of the way before the synod begins. Yet the procedure allows for an appeal, so if Gabriele is convicted there will still be stories to do about where the process goes from here, along with a renewed drumbeat of speculation about a possible papal pardon.
This intersection of the trial and the synod could play out in different ways.
On the one hand, it could be styled a further proof of just how colossally tone-deaf the Vatican is with regard to PR. At the very moment they’re deliberating how to make Catholicism look inviting and attractive, they’ve also basically handed the media an engraved invitation to produce stories about corruption, palace intrigue and back-biting at the highest levels of power.
On the other hand, if the Vatican could somehow use the trial to show that it’s committed to due process and that it has nothing to hide, it might actually debunk some anti-clerical stereotypes that get in the way of drawing people to the faith.
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.