The leaked documents have brought to light old scandals and
conspiracy theories as well: The Vatican bank, The Institute for Religious
Works, has been embroiled in intrigue and nefarious doings as far back as 1978,
when Banco Ambrosiano became steeped in scandal, resulting in the loss of over
$350 million.
Three suspicious deaths are connected with the demise of the
Banco Ambrosiano: Roberto
Calvi , Chairman of the bank, Graziella
Corrocher, his private secretary, and ... Pope John Paul I. Roberto Calvi was
found hung under a London Bridge a victim of foul play (not suicide). Graziella
Corrocher's death was an apparent suicide, but suspiciously close to Calvi's
death. John Paul's death is now worthy of a Dan Brown thriller: his cause of
death has never been satisfactorily explained, and, against custom, his body
did not undergo an autopsy.
All this would be old news except for
Ratzinger's (Benedict's) involvement in spin and cover-up: one of the most
vocal clerics against the papacy (especially in regards to its infallibility)
has been Hans Kung, who's proximity to John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul
I concerned the papacy enough to have him barred from teaching theology at the
University of Tubingen. As then-head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the
Faith (ancestor to the old Inquisition), Ratzinger continued the
disbarment.*
WHAT HAPPENS IN
ROME, STAYS IN ROME
And what the pope knows is at the crux of the matter: the
portrait of a clueless, doddering old man certainly does not fit Benedict. His
obvious cover-up
of pedophile priests , first in Munich as archbishop, then as head of
the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, showed a man used to secrecy and
intrigue. His experience with clandestine affairs did not stop when elected
pope: in order to maintain secrecy, a man of his stature must know everything
there is to be secret about.
So it seems that Benedict XVI has had a
history of cover-ups and his papacy has hidden financial abuse, sexual abuse
and maybe even murder, but will the latest scandal hurt the papacy? Will
the"criminal" book, His Holiness, make an 1800 year-old institution
come crashing down around his Prada-clad feet?
Hardly. But stay tuned, just in case.
*Even though Kung and Ratzinger had been
friends. Kung was instrumental in getting Ratzinger the position.
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