WHAT HAPPENED AT THE 2015 SYNOD? PART H An Urgent and Disturbing Aside (Continued) We continue with the topic of the increasing opposition to our Holy Father and the rough year the had in 2015 with things happening that could be used against him, his papacy, and his reform of the Church.

If we read the preceding material in these reflections/comments carefully, we will be aware that Francis from time to time references “scandals,” e.g., in the last edition of these materials (PART G), I highlighted the word “scandals” three times in Francis’ discourse to the Curia near Christmas time. Francis does not specify what these scandals are and there were more than a few! One of the scandals Francis probably had in mind was the case of Jozef Wesolowski, the Archbishop who served in the Dominican Republic as part of the Vatican’s diplomatic corps. “This [Francis] is the first pope in modern times who is prepared to jail high-ranking prelates [like this Archbishop] who was laicised and about to go on trial for child abuse when he died in August [2015]” (Marco Politi, veteran Vatican observer and author of Among the Wolves: The inside story of a revolution, “Features: Vatileaks scandals – Sex enters the mix as corruption saga rumbles on”, The Tablet, December 5, 2015). Here Francis saw “his own press office forced to release details of the autopsy of this papal diplomat accused of sexual abuse, who died in August, because of persistent rumours he may have been killed to avoid the embarrassment of a trial” (“Analysis: Despite a rough year, Pope Francis vows it’s full steam ahead”). It is interesting that a veteran scholarly Vatican observer like John L. Allen, Junior, associate editor of Crux now (www.cruxnow.com), has this to say about what “scandals” Francis is referencing: “In Italy, however, no one is asking that question [“what scandals are these?”], because virtually everyone in Italy assumes they know exactly what Francis had in mind: ‘Vatileaks 2.0’” (“Analysis: Pope Francis faces a real dilemma in ‘Vatileaks 2.0,’” December 23, 2015 at http://www.cruxnow.com/church/2015/12/23/pope-francis-faces-a-real-dilemma-in-vatileaks...) We will look at this matter shortly but first we should briefly consider what Francis had to say to Vatican workers (not the Curia here). We will do so below.

On the same day Francis spoke to the Curia (December 21, 2015), he also addressed Vatican employees at noon to show them and their families gratitude for all their works and efforts during the year (2015). It was a good address. “Francis thanked all present for their work and their efforts in doing all things well, even when there is no recognition. He addressed in particular those who have carried out the same type of work for many years, acknowledging that routine is not always easy to accept as ‘we are not machines … at times we need an incentive, or to change a little … Thank you! Let us continue to go ahead, in our various workplaces, collaborating with patience and endeavouring to help each other.’ “The Holy Father also apologised for the scandals [again note] that have taken place in the Vatican [in the words of John Allen in ‘Analysis: Despite a rough year, Pope vows it’s full steam ahead’ – ‘Pope Francis issued an unusually blunt mea culpa (“my fault” in Latin): “I want to apologize for the scandals that were in the Vatican,” referring to 2015.”] ‘But I would like my and your attitude, especially in these days, to be that of prayer: praying for those involved so that they may repent and return to a righteous path.’” (”The Pope receives Vatican employees: live the Jubilee in the domestic church [the family] too,” Vatican Information Service at [email protected], December 21, 2015) Notice the Pope’s tenderness and focus in the following comments. “There is another thing I wish to say to you, possibly the most important: I encourage you to take care of your marriage and your children. Look after them, do not neglect them. Marriage is like a plant. It is not like a cupboard

1 that you put in a room and perhaps dust every now and then. A plant is living and must be cared for every day. Marriage is a living reality … Let us remember that the most valuable gift for children … is their parents’ love. And I do not mean only the love of parents for their children, but also the love between parents themselves, that is, the conjugal bond. This is good for you and for your children … Focus on mercy in your daily relations … Take care of grandparents … The Lord loves those who practice mercy in ordinary situations. This is my wish for you: to experience the joy of mercy, starting with your family. Happy Christmas!” (“The Pope receives Vatican employees: live the Jubilee in the domestic church too”) Note Francis’ emphases on family and mercy – two of his most important ideas for his theology, ministry, and spirituality!

And now we return to Vatileaks – the mess they came to be and the mess they continue to be! The Pope this past year (2015) has “watched a burgeoning Vatican leaks scandal that has led to three former insiders and two journalists facing criminal charges” (“Analysis: Despite a rough year, Pope Francis vows it’s full steam ahead”); Francis needs to make some hard difficult decisions about the latest scandal about Vatican leaks – leaks journalists call “Vatileaks 2.0.” “The term refers to the sensation that broke out in early November [2015] when two Italian journalists, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, simultaneously published books [Merchants in the Temple and Avarice respectively] exposing various financial meltdowns, based in part on leaked documents from a study commission [the former Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organization of the Economic- Administrative Structure of the ] set up by Pope Francis shortly after his election in 2013 to prepare the basis for reform. In short order, three former Vatican insiders were charged with crimes under Vatican law for leaking those documents and the two journalists were charged for pressuring them to do so. Presumably, most people who follow Church affairs know that much. If you have not been following the story in detail, however, you are missing out, because it is already had more twists than a daytime soap opera!” (“Analysis: Pope Francis faces a real dilemma in ‘Vatileaks 2.0’”) As we follow the twists and turns here, keep in mind the basic summation of the “soap opera” in the previous sentence, “In short order, three former Vatican…,” and you should not have any difficulty in coming to understand what happened here! Turn to this sentence as a recap whenever you need to do so!

Unfortunately, “Autumn 2015 will not go down in the annals of history as a time when the Vatican was notable for encouraging a free press. During the Synod on the Family, Pope Francis discontinued the Vatican press office’s practice of publishing members’ speeches each day and thus prevented Catholics from knowing what their bishops were saying on the issue of allowing remarried divorcees to receive Communion. “And now we have the trial of two Italian journalists, Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi, whose alleged offence has been to publish classified documents about waste and mismanagement by Vatican institutions. This is exactly what journalists must do whether they are covering the Vatican, London or Washington. [I certainly believe that it is to this that their work/vocation calls them!] “Few believe the journalists will be sent to prison, though they may eventually be fined. The fact that the trial is happening at all casts the Vatican in a dim light. “Perhaps that is why suddenly the judicial authorities have slowed down the process. The trial began on November 24 [2015], then it was postponed during the papal trip to Africa (the Holy See evidently wanted to avoid unpleasant comments while Francis was preaching love and peace in Nairobi [Kenya], Kampala [Uganda], and Bangui [Central African Republic]. It resumed for 13 minutes [at the end of November] and was immediately postponed to December 7 [2015], the day before the launch of the Year of Mercy.” (Politi) None of the defendants seemed prepared to go quietly. “In this court hearing of December 7, a three-judge panel agreed to various defense requests that will have the effect of postponing the resumption of the trial for some time” (“Analysis: Pope

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Francis faces a real dilemma in ‘Vatileaks 2.0”). Just before Christmas Day, Nuzzi said the next hearing will not happen until after February 20, 2016. “Perhaps Fittipaldi and Nuzzi, who are accused of exerting ‘pressure’ on their Vatican sources to leak documents and information, are not the real target. The result of the trial is to expose the manoeuvres of a strange duo: the Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda and Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui. Vallejo Balda is the once-respected ex-secretary of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs and a member of ; Chaouqui is a vivacious PR [Public Relations person], who was appointed alongside Vallejo Balda to a commission created by Francis in July 2013 for the reform of the Vatican administration and finances knowns as COSEA. Given her lack of relevant experience, no one inside or outside the Vatican has been able to fathom how she came to be appointed. The plot thickened when the Italian daily, La Repubblica, published a statement allegedly by Vallejo Balda, in which he claims he was seduced by Chaouqui.” (Politi) This supposedly happened in a Florence [Italy] hotel room where Chaouqui supposedly said her husband works as a secret agent and their marriage is merely a cover. “Adding another dash of spice, hotel personnel supposedly found a baby doll belonging to Chaouqui in Vallejo Balda’s room the next day. Chaouqui has dismissed claims of such a tryst as the ‘delusions of a madman.’ (For the record, she says she and her husband are expecting a child in July [2016].) She also has repeatedly and strenuously, denied leaking documents.” (“Analysis: Pope Francis faces a real dilemma in ‘Vatileaks 2.0’”) “One of the requests [by the defence in the December 7 hearing] was for a technical evaluation among Vallejo Balda, Chaouqui, and Nicola Maio, the third accused insider, who was Balda’s secretary. (Some of these messages apparently utilized the mobile messaging tool WhatsApp [App = Application, in computer language] which is terra incognito to most in the Vatican.) Another defence request was to call various Vatican heavyweights as witnesses, including the Secretary of State, Italian Cardinal – who was not even in when the Pope’s study commission was active because he was still the papal envoy in Venezuela – and Spanish Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, the president of a commission of cardinals overseeing the Vatican bank, as well as Polish Archbishop Konrad Krajewski, who runs the pope’s personal charities.” (“Analysis: Pope Francis faces a real dilemma in ‘Vatileaks 2.0’”) Thus far, be very clear as to who is who. The three Vatican insiders face the legal charge of criminal association and these are Balda, Chaouqui, and Maio; the two “outsider” journalists who face the Vatican legal charge of putting pressure on Vatican sources (=the three insiders) are Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi. I look at John Allen’s characterization of the above mess as quite insightful: “The process [described above to deal with the mess] has the makings of a potential circus” (“Analysis: Pope Francis faces a real dilemma in ‘Vatileaks 2.0’”)!

“Initially, Vatican officials up to and including the pope, hoped the criminal trial could be wrapped up before December 8, when the jubilee year of Mercy began. In the back of their minds was probably the first Vatileaks affair in 2012, when the trial of the ex-papal butler [Paolo Gabriele] accused of leaking documents belonging to Pope Benedict XVI took less than a week. This one, however, does not look like it will be so easy.” (“Analysis: Pope Francis faces a real dilemma in ‘Vatileaks 2.0’”) (Between Vatileaks 1 and Vatileaks 2.0, the Vatican passed a law that criminalized the unofficial release of news and documents.) Thus “there is a great difference between the first Vatileaks affair, during the papacy of Benedict XVI [2005-2013], and the second [the one we are discussing here]. Vatileaks 1 revealed a Vatican torn by internal wars and conflicts between cardinals, which precipitated Benedict XVI’s decision to step down. Vatileaks 2 [2.0] seems to be more the product of individuals, motivated by reasons that are not yet clear. [Here recall the earlier line above: ‘perhaps Fittipaldi and Nuzzi, the journalists,… are not the real target.’] The reasons include a mix of ambition, revenge (Vallejo Balda had hoped to become secretary of the new Secretariat for the Economy headed by Cardinal Pell, but his appointment was vetoed by the Pope) 3 and a lust for power and influence discernable especially in Chaouqui’s continual pronouncements on social media.” (Politi)

We cannot leave this matter without briefly looking at the scandals involved in Vatileaks 2.0. “Most of the material in Fittipaldi’s and Nuzzi’s books comes from the confidential files of the COSEA commission. It shows that Francis is committed to fighting corruption [emphasis added]. Even during his recent trip to Africa, he emphasized that ‘there is corruption also in the Vatican.’ “Fittipaldi and Nuzzi should be given credit for letting the public judge what has been happening… There are valuable facts uncovered in both books. They reveal that there still exist today around 1200 ‘dubious’ bank accounts at the Vatican Bank (formally known as the Institute for Religious Works), although these are officially frozen. “There is also an official bank account held at this Institute controlled by a Board of Cardinals to fund charitable projects. The balance, 425,000 Euros, was untouched during 2013-2014. There are also shocking revelations in the COSEA files, about the hundreds of thousands of Euros spent on creating saints and about the tiny portion given to the poor. “Then there is the disclosure that the charitable fund of the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù hospital was used to pay 200,000 Euros for the restoration of the luxurious apartment of the former Secretary of State, Cardinal . “One of the worst abuses has been exposed by Reuter’s news agency and concerns Apsa, the agency administering the patrimony of the Holy See. Apsa’s work should be confined to facilitating Vatican business. Reuters has discovered accounts in the name of the Italian banker Giampietro Nattino, whose bank Finnat has allegedly used them to transfer 2 million Euros to Switzerland for other deals. The Vatican Financial Information Authority is investigating Finnat for alleged money- laundering, insider trading and market manipulation.” (Politi) WOW! All this can certainly be disheartening to Catholics trying to be Gospel Christians (as Francis desires) and to Catholics trying not to be cynical or disillusioned; what I find encouraging and heartening is how the scholar Marco Politi ends his article in the Tablet. “The new Vatileaks shows that Pope Francis still has a lot to do [and thank God for this reforming Pope!]. The claim that Allejo Balda and Chaouqui had a passionate love affair gives the whole story a comic touch.” (Politi) Furthermore, our “Pope will not tolerate a member of his staff taping and leaking what he says in private meetings, as Vallejo Balda is accused of doing. Nor will he stand by as members of the Curia give journalists passwords allowing access to files on an internal financial inquiry. [In addition] there is another reason for the current Pope to deal robustly with breaches of loyalty by people who work in (or with) his government. He knows he has enemies in the Curia and he needs to stop further embarrassing leaks. Francis is full of mercy towards sinners, but has an iron fist on the issues of sex abuse or sabotage. [And] this is the first pope in modern times who is prepared to jail high-ranking prelates for matters like child abuse.” (Politi) As you can see, the scale of Francis’ task of excising corruption in the Curia is huge but he can do it and so let us have confidence in him for this task and let us pray hard that he will succeed! Thank you! Lastly, it certainly is disconcerting for the average Catholic to learn about all these scandals. But what can we do in regards to them? In the next edition of these reflections/comments, we will consider what the scholarly John Allen has to say about the matter. In the meantime, God keep you strong in your Faith. Amen!

TO BE CONTINUED Father Fred Scinto, C.R., Resurrection Ministries, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. (519-885-4370 or toll free 1-877-242-7935) ([email protected]) 4