Three secret Kingmakers in the Conclave and also a call to re-elect Pope Benedict.

The conclave will be on 12 Begin March. 115 cardinals from around the world will then begin to choose the successor of Benedict XVI. Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman had promised the message only for Friday night at 19 clock, but due to a leak, it came out earlier.

On Thursday, the last cardinal had arrived from Vietnam. The rest of the international college had intensively discussed in the days before in regular plenary sessions in the Nervi Hall and in numerous meetings in the palaces and in the corridors of the Vatican, as well as in many places around St. Peter's, the profile of a successor - and the tasks that are coming towards the poor man.

The cardinals themselves cannot speak a word, since they had to swear all individually before the Plenary strict secrecy. No wonder that the rumor mill since then has been working as has not seen for years.
What is known before the imposition of the information embargo was this: all the guests from the five continents will find in Rome finally precisely what has happened in the last few months at the Vatican.

The secret kingmakers
The Cardinal Julián Herranz (82) from Spain, Jozef Tomko (89) from Slovakia and southern Italian Salvatore De Giorgi (82) who last year on behalf of Benedict XVI scrupulously researched the background of the document leak from the table of the Pope, are therefore now already considered as the secret kingmakers.
Certainly, the three in any case more remove more than one cardinal from the race. Because they have made in individual meetings with their brothers certainly no secret of their findings. The 300-page dossier, in which they have recorded the findings and results of their investigations is destined only for the next Pope.

However, many details of their investigations have obviously spread anyway a long way in the corridors of the Vatican long ago - wherein many initiates did not need their own investigations to be in the picture, which normally does not penetrate through the walls of the Vatican to the outside.

"The Curia finished off Benedict XVI"
"The Curia finished off Benedict XVI", is therefore not an unusual assessment in the alleys and streets around Saint Peters. The future Pope must "clean up" the Vatican bureaucracy "from the ground up", the American Archbishop Charles Chaput told the Roman newspaper "Il Messaggero" on Thursday.

These "punishing tasks" requires an energy that Benedict XVI. obviously could not any more bring and therefore it was logical to abdicated his office. He also had thwarted several consequences and plans by this last step of his official resignation, although this was a personal option for himself, not just a possibility, which he for a long time saw joined in principle with this office .

"If the Pope can see that he can absolutely not continue, then surely he would resign," Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger already told on the 11 March 2002John Schießl,  the chief editor  of the Munich diocesan newspaper. His decision of 11 February sprang not only from his own personal well-being, but his understanding of the Petrine ministry as a whole. With this understanding of office still not all in the Catholic Church agree, not even among the cardinals.

No clear favorite to succeed
As opposed to the conclave of 2005, when Joseph Ratzinger was by far the best-known face, there are no clear favorites for the succession and also no clear clash between conservatives and progressives.
This time, Cardinals from around the world are united and divided, especially by the question of how much they agree with the spectacular last step of Benedict XVI- or how much they reject it. Only after the election of a successor, can therefore the complex meaning of his resignation be assessed.

In this game, the daring step of the last Pope was a gamble with the Holy Spirit. For his successor could again thwart all decrees, which he has taken for his future - or else he could be associated with a never before experienced double pontificate, as long as "Benedictus XVI emeritus." still lives.

Understanders of the Papacy quoted
Before this election but now especially, the pundits and understanders of the Papacy such as David Berger have the floor, who is currently a sought after interviewee about "gay cliques and networks pink" in the Vatican.

The network and server to Saint Peter therefore also breaks down these days every few minutes, with the incredible amounts of data that are spread in these days from Rome into all the world. Meanwhile, there are already more journalists than the death of John Paul II . A separate media center has had to be established because the Sala Stampa emergency provisions are nowhere enough.

The Sistine Chapel was already closed on Tuesday to begin the technical preparation for the conclave- providing seats, setting up the furnace in which the ballots are burned, searching carefully for possible bugs and the like.

Space must be secured
The room must also be electronically secured so that a Cardinal does not tweet the news about the new Pope before the rise of white smoke outside.

A high prelate from Lebanon has these days proposed in all seriousness, that the best thing would be for the Cardinals sin this conclave to simply choose again Benedict XVI again. He pointed out that such a procedure would be possible canoncially without any further ramifications. Then there would be in the church once again a few less problems. This choice, Benedict would necessarily accept and return immediately from Castel Gandolfo to Rome.

After his return, Benedict XVI would immediately govern like never before. With such a election mandate, the frail old man would now really be the most powerful Pope in the history of the church.

Source

Cardinal Herranz, the Pope's chief investigator of Vatileaks, gives an interview

Investigator from Medjugorje to the "bubble" of Vatileaks

Much has been written in recent days about the Vatican's secret dossier, and even more speculation. It concerns the final report of the Commission of Inquiry consisting of three cardinals, which Pope Benedict XVI had commissed to investigate the "Vatileaks" document theft that led to the arrest of the papal chamberlain,Paolo Gabriele.

When the Holy See announced that the cardinals will be granted access to the report before the conclave, but in the event did not provide it, it gave open editorial season to the journalists. And ever less serious speculation came up like weeds that Benedict XVI had resigned because of this report. The document that is not in the foreseeable future to be made available can be interpreted in anyway anyone wants. Even some Catholic journalists could not be kept in check, and rode the wave that showered the church with garbage.

The head of the pontifical commission, Cardinal Julián Herranz, a member of Opus Dei, canon law expert, physician and psychiatrist has only once given a statement on the matter.

He did this in an interview with the Spanish daily El Pais published on 19 February. A look at this interview is useful to give proportion to the contrived media excitement.

Julián Herranz was born in 1930 in Andalusia. Ordained a priest in 1955, he has worked since 1960 in the Roman Curia.

Pope John Paul II appointed him to be a Curial Archbishop and created him a cardinal in 2003. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and the Disciplinary Commission of the Roman Curia. Cardinal Herranz was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Commission appointed to examine the phenomenon of Medjugorje. Although the final report has been submitted, ecclesiastical recognition of the Herzegovinian "place of apparition" has still not been made, as the Pope, it seems, was not ready.

The Spaniard celebrated after the adoption of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum the Holy Sacrifice in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, and was a member of the pontifical commission Ecclesia Dei.

You have led the investigating commission about Vatileaks which passed its final report to the Pope on the 17th December. There has been much speculation about the contents of this report, which one imagines is extremely serious, to the extent that many are of the opinion that he had been crucial for the resignation of the Pope.
This matter has been enormously inflated. I assure you in my capacity as Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry that a bubble was constructed from it, which will soon burst.

In the Vatican, it is relatively common, to form committees of this kind. You have the task of examining how things are in a certain area. It goes and talks to people, looks at the things, those that are functioning and those that are not, the lights and the shadows, it made notes, and finally the results are reported to the competent authority. It then is up to the competent authority to make the decisions it deems appropriate.

The matter has conveyed a bad impression of the church.
But it's just a soap bubble, an anecdote. There is a willingness to see snake nests, mafia groups fighting each other, internal jealousies and hatred, all of which is absolutely wrong. I have been working for more than half a century in the Vatican, and I can say that I admire many of my colleagues, for their capacity for devotion and sacrifice. There will be black sheep, as in all families, that fact I would not argue with, but we speak of the least corrupt and most transparent government, there is, more than any international organization and any secular government. I have been following the media attention, I am a hermit, and I read what happens in the world and see that we speak of the least corrupt government that has been exemplary in many respects.

[...] In fact, they created a bubble of mysterious things. It is created with a lot of imagination. It is clear that there is no government, family or organized group that has not an intimate area that is kept away from the public. In any government, there are far more dark areas of intelligence agencies and decisions that a president makes, without making them public, far more than in the Vatican areas of secrecy.

Has the Vatileaks case not really scarred the Pope ?
No. I assure you that this is just an anecdote compared to the decisions of the Holy Father and the problems of the Church. The fundamental problem of the church is the need for a new evangelization. The church suffered a terrible persecution. 80 percent of people worldwide who have been persecuted in the past year because of their beliefs were, and the Christians and that is said by other institutions, not the church itself. This is happening in India, Pakistan, Africa. In other places, they are discriminated against, as if they have wrong, reprehensible opinions. And then there is a more toxic form of persecution.

In the developed countries?
Yes, for example

In Europe, the Church has certainly lost a lot of power.
Anyone looking at the church as a power factor, is wrong from the outset. The message of the Church is persecuted there, where there is an absolutist stance. It is where religious freedom is not granted. It is estimated that last year around 100,000 Christians were persecuted, imprisoned or murdered. For three years, a mother of a family, Asia Bibiis in prison in Pakiston and only a few secular bodies raise their voices. Again, these things make you suffer. And the Pope is aware that the waves of the world ocean are growing higher and that the barque of the Church needs a solid hand on the rudder.

What qualities should the man who presents himself as the new Pope to the control?
Two things. In the first place it is necessary that there is a man who loves Christ. Knows the founder of the church and loves.

But this quality is met by all the cardinals.
Of course, but not in the same way. All Cardinals can talk, but it is to see who speaks best. There are different degrees of holiness in the people. It is not irrelevant as to whether someone has the monastic vocation, as Celestine V, or if another is a friend of Christ in the same way, but is aware, what happens in the world, what ideological and cultural trends hit the world in waves.

And the second quality?
That he is ready to explain his love for God to others.

So a good communicator.
Exactly. The carrying forward of the new evangelization, which proclaims Christ in the world.

Is age important?
Yes, these are indeed secondary issues, but of great importance- Age, health, language skills, ability to travel and perhaps nationality


Source

Vatileaks dossier kept from Cardinals by Pope as they decide on his successor

The investigation report of the Cardinal Commissioners into the "Vatileaks affair" remains under lock and key and will only be made ​​available to the new Pope. This is from a Vatican communique issued on Monday in connection with an audience for the three cardinals Julian Herranz, Jozef Tomko and Salvatore Di Giorgi. Initially it was thought that the Pope could make the text available to the Cardinals at the start of the General Congregation.

At the audience with the three cardinals, the Pope thanked the Commission for the completion of its, said the statement. Your report did - "beside the limits and imperfections given the human component of all institutions - made clear the generosity, honesty and dedication of the employees for the Holy See in the service of the pope".

"The Pope has decided that the records of the investigation about whose contents only the Pope is aware, will only be made available to the new Pope," according to the communique.

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Cardinal announces there will be surprises in the Vatileaks affair

"Vatileaks"-Kommission kündigt "Überraschungen" an - news.ORF.at

"Vatileaks" Commission announces "surprises"

In the scandal surrounding the disclosure of confidential documents from the Vatican ("Vatileaks") the head of the commission, the Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz,has announced. "Soon there will be some surprises," he said today to the Italian news agency ANSA. The investigation is proceeding "quickly and diligently." As to what the news could be, Herranz gave no hints.

In recent months internal documents from the Vatican had been repeatedly given to Italian media, which involved among other things, corruption, money laundering and child abuse. Pope Benedict XVI commissioned Herranz and other cardinals, the Slovak Jozef Tomko, and the Italian Salvatore De Giorgi, to investigate the incidents. On 23 May the servant of the Pope, Paolo Gabriele was arrested in the course of the investigation.

Cardinal Commissioners report to the Pope in the "Vatileaks" affair- excommunications possible

Kardinal-Kommissare erstatten in der "Vatileaks"-Affäre Papst Bericht - Den Hintergründen auf der Spur | Nachrichten - domradio.de

The background to the investigation

What was unusual was not the meeting itself. But the fact that the Vatican officially announced the meeting of Benedict XVI. with his three Cardinal Commissioners in the"Vatileaks" case. It shows how especially important for the Vatican are the backgrounds and motives of the affairs.

For weeks, the Vatican investigates the "Vatileaks" affair

On Saturday afternoon, the Pope received the Spaniard Julian Cardinal Herranz, the Slovak Jozef Cardinal Tomko and the southern Italian, Salvatore Cardinal De Giorgi in audience, says the Bulletin of the Press Office. The retired dignitaries are charged by the head of the church with investigating the betrayal of confidentiality.

Parallel to the investigation of the Vatican Police, they are allowed to invite prelates, bishops and cardinals to meetings. The Vatican provided information neither on the content of the papal audience nor on the previous findings of eminent special commission. But the report of the tripartite group - after several conversations between the Pope and Cardinal Herranz -which have not been reported- suggests a turning point.

The three cardinals like the police are to investigate how the documents could disappear from the desk of the pope or his private secretary, Monsignor Georg Gänswein. They are trying to clarify the circumstances, potential backers and accomplices of the one person arrested so far, the papal chamberlain Paolo Gabriele. And they seek to establish the motives for the deliberate betrayal of trust.

That Gabrielle has exploited his position of trust and taken the papers from the offices of his employer, is only doubted by creative conspiracy theorists. But after the preliminary investigation of the Vatican prosecutor, Nicola Piccardi and the first interrogation by Judge Piero Antonio Bonnet so far nothing tangible has become known: Nothing that would confirm or refute the theories of well-meaning individual perpetrators, of a circle of conspirators, of the struggle for power in the curia or of foreign-controlled conspiracy. There are only several inconsistencies: Why has a family man devoted to the Church puts his whole life at stake. And why did he not previously destroy or hide the "evidence"?.

Investigating the background

The background and motives for the Vatileaks affair are important to the Vatican. The question is what exactly has triggered such anger and resentment. Was it, as some speculated, the moving of Vice-Governor Carlo Maria Vigano, who wanted to clean up the Vatican state administration, which has motivated the revelations? And against whom is the attack? Does someone want to harm Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Papal Secretary Gänswein or both? Perhaps even the Pope himself? Or is it the institution of the Church that should be damaged and discredited?

After several days of rest, the interviewing of Gabrielle will be continued in the coming week. Meanwhile Bonnet has seen the material, and the defence team of the butler will familiarize themselves further with the case. And in addition to the offence of theft, it will soon be a natter of the disciplinary and ecclesiastical side of the offence.

The "General Regulation of the Roman Curia" of 1999 refers to in Article 76, the "violation of the pontifical secrecy" as grounds for dismissal. Administrative secrecy was "to be rigorously observed" (Article 36), files or messages should not be given to any unauthorized person, and this applies particularly to the "Pontifical secret". This injury is indicated in the oath of office, which must be taken by the members of the Curia, as a "grave sin".

Cathcon- in severe cases carrying the sentence of excommunication