Photo ~ Pope Benedict XVI arrives at St. Peter's Square for his weekly general audience. A scandal involving leaked papal letters has left some observers wondering whether he can rein in the conflicting forces within the Vatican. (Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty…)

Pope Benedict XVI seeks to reassure Roman Catholics amid scandal

The Vatican, through its press office, newspaper, and statements by officials, has concentrated its criticism on the intrusion of privacy and possibly illegal dissemination of private correspondence.

The sense of violation endured by the pope with the arrest of Paolo Gabriele, the butler who for six years had served as one of the closest people to him, was expressed by Archbishop Angelo Becciu, an official in the secretary of state's office.

He said in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano that the pope had suffered a "brutal" act with the theft of his private correspondence and that the publication was "an act of unprecedented gravity."

Vatican observers say the leaks expose the worst crisis of the Catholic Church in modern times and wonder whether the 85-year-old Benedict, now in the seventh year of his papacy, can rein in the conflicting forces within the Roman Curia.

According to many Italian Vaticanisti, or church watchers, there is a long list of events that indicate a weakness in leadership and long-simmering conflict within the Vatican that the so-called Vatileaks scandal is bringing to the surface.

They include the transfer, against his will, of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who was assigned by the pope to clean up the administration of day-to-day affairs in Vatican City. Vigano was deputy governor of Vatican City from 2009 to 2011.

The letters show that despite his protests that his efforts to eliminate corruption in Vatican purchasing would be thwarted, he was transferred in 2011 by Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone to head the Vatican's diplomatic mission in Washington.

News media paint Bertone as being involved in many of the conflicts brought to light in recent events, including the unusually brusque dismissal of the president of the Vatican bank last week.

Link