Reliable
sources inside the Vatican have pieced together what happened. The book “From
the Depths of Our Hearts” is clearly by Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah (as indeed
the letters between the two of them -
made public by Cardinal Sarah - demonstrate unequivocally). Everything had
been decided and agreed upon from the very start. The other
day – when the part defending celibacy was published - pandemonium broke out in the Vatican because
Bergoglio was fuming with rage. In fact, that authoritative pronouncement by Benedict, stops him from
tearing apart ecclesiastic celibacy, as he had intended to do in the upcoming Post-Synod
Exhortation. So, he personally
summoned Monsignor Gaenswein, Benedict’s secretary, but also Prefect of
Bergoglio’s Papal Household and, furious, ordered him to have Benedict XVI’s
name removed from the cover of the book (being unable to demand the changing of
the texts therein).
Bergoglio demanded a full and total disclaimer. For this reason the first
filtered report spoke of sources “close to Benedict XVI” who said Benedict had
not written the book with Cardinal Sarah, nor had he approved the cover (that
is, his signature on the volume).
This however, was not true and Benedict XVI was unable to accept speaking
falsely by implicitly accusing Cardinal Sarah of having involved him without
his consent. Neither did Pope Benedict have any intention of taking back what
he had written in defense of celibacy in the book. In fact Cardinal Sarah
immediately made the letters exchanged between them public, which showed the
book had been decided upon by both of them, and without doubt he made them
public with Benedict’s permission. To re-establish the truth.
On the other hand, Benedict also found himself needing to protect his secretary
from the South American’s “vengeance”, seeing as he had received a peremptory
order from Bergoglio. So this
solution of compromise was adopted: in
successive book editions the author will be Cardinal Sarah “with the
contribution of Benedict XVI”. The text of
the book, nevertheless, remains the same.
With this
messy compromise, the Bergoglian court can say to the mass-media that “Benedict
XVI removed his signature from the book” (even if it’s not true) but in actual
fact the book remains just as it is, with Sarah’s signature and Benedict’s name
as author of the parts agreed upon.
A very ugly
story of clerical bullying, which, in the end, aims at muzzling Benedict XVI.
The fundamental question remains however: If Bergoglio
– in his Exhortation - hits out at
celibacy (with the ordination of “viri probati”), he places himself de facto in direct contrast with the doctrine of the Church, reaffirmed in recent
days by Pope Benedict XVI. Thus, he becomes responsible for a very grave rift, fraught
with consequences.
Translation: Contributor Francesca Romana
