Secrets spill after pope's retirement bombshell
VATICAN CITY (AP) - For an institution devoted to eternal light, the Vatican has shown itself to be a master of smokescreens since Pope Benedict XVI's shock resignation announcement.
On Thursday, the Vatican spokesman acknowledged that Benedict hit his head and bled profusely while visiting Mexico in March. Two days earlier the same man acknowledged that Benedict has had a pacemaker for years, and underwent a secret operation to replace its battery three months ago.
And as the Catholic world reeled from shock over the abdication, it soon became clear that Benedict's post-papacy lodgings have been under construction since at least the fall. That in turn put holes in the Holy See's early claims that Benedict kept his decision to himself until he revealed it.
Vatican secrecy is legendary and can have tragic consequences - as the world learned through the church sex abuse scandal in which bishops quietly moved abusive priests without reporting their crimes.
And the secrecy is institutionalized from such weighty matters to the most trivial aspects of Vatican life.
"You have to understand that actually every Vatican employee and official takes an oath of secrecy when they assume their job," said John Thavis, author of "The Vatican Diaries," an investigation into the workings of the Holy See. "And this isn't something that is taken lightly. They swear to keep secret any office matters and anything pertaining to the pope."
One of the most famous cases of Vatican secrecy was the Holy See's efforts to cover up the fact that Pope John Paul I's dead body was discovered by a nun. The eventual revelation helped fuel conspiracy theories over the death of the pope who ruled for only 33 days in 1978.
The Vatican is so obsessed with secrecy that the first and only official confirmation that John Paul II had Parkinson's disease was in his death certificate.
The Vatican justifies itself by arguing that its officials are holders of the divine truth, unaccountable to worldly laws. In particular, the pope's word is the final say on any issue - infallible on some doctrinal matters. But groups representing sex abuse victims, and other Catholics angered by the scandal, have been demanding modern standards of accountability and calling for reforms.
The Vatican brushed aside criticism for keeping quiet about the pope's December pacemaker procedure, on grounds it was "routine." One Vatican official said making the operation public would simply have led to a big and unnecessary commotion about the pope's health. "You can imagine the satellite dishes in St. Peter's square," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The front-man for the church's dance of concealment and disclosure: Vatican spokesman The Rev. Federico Lombardi. In his briefings, Lombardi has been forced into the uncomfortable situation of keeping silent on aspects of the pope's health and future, only to backpedal when confronted with reports in Italian newspapers.
In the latest disclosure, Turin's La Stampa newspaper reported Thursday that Benedict hit his head on a sink and bled profusely when he got up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar bedroom in Leon, Mexico. The report said papal blood stained Benedict's hair, his pillow and the floor.
Lombardi confirmed the incident but denied it played any role in the pope's resignation. Still, suspicions are bound to be whetted, since the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported this week that Benedict had taken the decision to resign after the Mexico-Cuba trip, which was physically exhausting for the 85-year-old pope.
Then there's the question of how many people knew of Benedict's decision to retire.
On the day of the announcement the Vatican cast it as a bolt from the blue, saying almost nobody knew but Benedict himself. Soon, however, prominent clergymen - one not even Catholic - began changing the tone and saying they were not surprised.
"Knowing the pope well, there was something in the air that this decision of the pope was possible," said Archbishop Piero Marini, master of papal ceremonies under Pope John Paul II. "So it was not a shock."
Even the retired Arcbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Rowan Williams, says that based on his last meeting with Benedict a year ago he was not surprise at the decision to step down.
"Because of our last conversation I was very conscious that he was recognizing his own frailty and it did cross my mind to wonder whether this was a step he might think about," Williams told Vatican Radio.
Renovation work on a convent previously occupied by cloistered nuns has been going on in secret since at least last fall, an issue apparently causing grumbling among cardinals about the choice of arrangements and whether Benedict's presence on Vatican grounds will allow the retired pope to wield too much influence on his successor.
"I don't think there was a consultation of the College of the Cardinals about this," Lombardi said Wednesday, deflecting questions about Benedict's living arrangements. "The decision and the process of the decision was very limited in the number of persons involved."
That points to another aspect of Vatican secrecy: The habit of different wings of the Holy See jealously concealing information from one another.
"There is very little cross communication within Vatican departments," Thavis said, "so one department may know something but that does not mean that the Curia office down the hall knows about it as well."
On Thursday, the Vatican spokesman acknowledged that Benedict hit his head and bled profusely while visiting Mexico in March. Two days earlier the same man acknowledged that Benedict has had a pacemaker for years, and underwent a secret operation to replace its battery three months ago.
And as the Catholic world reeled from shock over the abdication, it soon became clear that Benedict's post-papacy lodgings have been under construction since at least the fall. That in turn put holes in the Holy See's early claims that Benedict kept his decision to himself until he revealed it.
Vatican secrecy is legendary and can have tragic consequences - as the world learned through the church sex abuse scandal in which bishops quietly moved abusive priests without reporting their crimes.
And the secrecy is institutionalized from such weighty matters to the most trivial aspects of Vatican life.
"You have to understand that actually every Vatican employee and official takes an oath of secrecy when they assume their job," said John Thavis, author of "The Vatican Diaries," an investigation into the workings of the Holy See. "And this isn't something that is taken lightly. They swear to keep secret any office matters and anything pertaining to the pope."
One of the most famous cases of Vatican secrecy was the Holy See's efforts to cover up the fact that Pope John Paul I's dead body was discovered by a nun. The eventual revelation helped fuel conspiracy theories over the death of the pope who ruled for only 33 days in 1978.
The Vatican is so obsessed with secrecy that the first and only official confirmation that John Paul II had Parkinson's disease was in his death certificate.
The Vatican justifies itself by arguing that its officials are holders of the divine truth, unaccountable to worldly laws. In particular, the pope's word is the final say on any issue - infallible on some doctrinal matters. But groups representing sex abuse victims, and other Catholics angered by the scandal, have been demanding modern standards of accountability and calling for reforms.
The Vatican brushed aside criticism for keeping quiet about the pope's December pacemaker procedure, on grounds it was "routine." One Vatican official said making the operation public would simply have led to a big and unnecessary commotion about the pope's health. "You can imagine the satellite dishes in St. Peter's square," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
The front-man for the church's dance of concealment and disclosure: Vatican spokesman The Rev. Federico Lombardi. In his briefings, Lombardi has been forced into the uncomfortable situation of keeping silent on aspects of the pope's health and future, only to backpedal when confronted with reports in Italian newspapers.
In the latest disclosure, Turin's La Stampa newspaper reported Thursday that Benedict hit his head on a sink and bled profusely when he got up in the middle of the night in an unfamiliar bedroom in Leon, Mexico. The report said papal blood stained Benedict's hair, his pillow and the floor.
Lombardi confirmed the incident but denied it played any role in the pope's resignation. Still, suspicions are bound to be whetted, since the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano reported this week that Benedict had taken the decision to resign after the Mexico-Cuba trip, which was physically exhausting for the 85-year-old pope.
Then there's the question of how many people knew of Benedict's decision to retire.
On the day of the announcement the Vatican cast it as a bolt from the blue, saying almost nobody knew but Benedict himself. Soon, however, prominent clergymen - one not even Catholic - began changing the tone and saying they were not surprised.
"Knowing the pope well, there was something in the air that this decision of the pope was possible," said Archbishop Piero Marini, master of papal ceremonies under Pope John Paul II. "So it was not a shock."
Even the retired Arcbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Rowan Williams, says that based on his last meeting with Benedict a year ago he was not surprise at the decision to step down.
"Because of our last conversation I was very conscious that he was recognizing his own frailty and it did cross my mind to wonder whether this was a step he might think about," Williams told Vatican Radio.
Renovation work on a convent previously occupied by cloistered nuns has been going on in secret since at least last fall, an issue apparently causing grumbling among cardinals about the choice of arrangements and whether Benedict's presence on Vatican grounds will allow the retired pope to wield too much influence on his successor.
"I don't think there was a consultation of the College of the Cardinals about this," Lombardi said Wednesday, deflecting questions about Benedict's living arrangements. "The decision and the process of the decision was very limited in the number of persons involved."
That points to another aspect of Vatican secrecy: The habit of different wings of the Holy See jealously concealing information from one another.
"There is very little cross communication within Vatican departments," Thavis said, "so one department may know something but that does not mean that the Curia office down the hall knows about it as well."
Jesus Christ does not need a "man""Pope" to speak for Him or be his spokesperson here on earth. The Catholic religion is steeped in mystic highly questionable rituals that should cause any thinking person concern. Unfortunately, the world is filled with false and destructive religions. That also includes atheism, which is also a religion of sorts.Â
Catholic church is ridiculous. "The Vatican justifies itself by arguing that its officials are holders of the divine truth, unaccountable to worldly laws." - Really? What a joke.
@NickM - The  Big Bang theory was developed by a Catholic Jesuit priest. Many Catholic priests are involved in researching and teaching physics, astrophysics and every other science. Go to www.magisreasonfaith.org and learn more about cosmic research. The father of genetics was a priest, no pun intended. Throughout history, there are priests leading scientific discovery in every branch of science. Science doesn't refute the Bible; they go hand in hand because the Bible was never intended to be a science lesson. It is lesson about human history, human interactions and how humans should interact to ensure the peace and safety of the whole world. Try reading it sometime, it is actually quite an interesting read. The old testament reads sort of like a novel in a lot of ways and the new testament, based on four eyewitness accounts and actual letters, is extraordinary. And if you learn about the Bible in context and understand the cultures of the time, it is incredibly inspirational.
The celibacy argument is ridiculous. Far more non-Catholic clergy have been involved in sex abuse scandals, and they are allowed to marry freely. The real problem in the past was gay men who used the priesthood as a way to escape the censure of their families and friends. Under Benedict's previous work, entry into seminaries for such men who only wish to hide their orientation will virtually impossible. So I suppose the secularists will start complaining about that as being some kind of discrimination. However, since marriage and sexual activity in the Church are restricted to the vocation of marriage between one man and one women, and ALL single vocations are celibate - not just priests - gay persons who are also celibate shouldn't have any problem being fully accepted in any parish.
Here's a crazy idea, let catholic clergy get married and hump their wives, would that be so bad? Abstinance isn't natural and is what leads to the perverse nature of the catholic church.
One of the benefits of an atheist: I don't care what happens to the Pope.Â
Looking towards the stars, the incredible research in quantum mechanics and our quest to explain the universe, its sad to see people still believing in a book which says that earth is 6000 years old and that the dinasours and humans lived happily together singing kumbaya
@NickM1979Â Yeah dude, but you'll never get rid of it, you gotta just find a way to comfortably live with it, like AIDS.
@yourbuddy @NickM1979 Looking up in the stars, and from all the incredible research that scientists discovered, makes me realize more and more that there's no way in hell that it all exploded out of nothing, and from non living matter came living matter, and everything you see around you evolved from rocks/explosion/gas which we don't have a slightest clue where it came from. If it's easier for you to believe that nothing created something, non living matter turned into living matter, then how can you possibly look down on someone believing in the Bible, when you believe in garbage like that?
@commentator ...Just because we don't know the Real_ Explanation, is no reason to make up some warm fuzzy feel-good Cover_Story...(e.g., "God")
"The report said papal blood stained Benedict's hair, his pillow and the floor."
Note to Victor L. Simpson - writer of this story - thank you for clearing up that it was 'papal blood' that came out of the pope's head, and not goat's blood, which is what we had all expected.
The Pope is the Antichrist. Places himself as God on earth.Â
@PhunkyMunky It's too late for now, but for future reference:  It is better to keep quiet and let people wonder if you are a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it.Â
@ukup @PhunkyMunky Pot, meet Kettle.
I'm so glad they pointed out that the Romanian president was "not seen." Â I thought he might be invisible.
I think Victor L. Simpson needs to be assigned to a different area of concern. The tone of this article is a bit harsh.
If the man wants to retire what difference does it make. That he is honest enough to admit that he doesn't feel up to the position anymore is enough of an explanation. To bad mother Theresa wasn't allowed to retire when she felt that way. If anyone deserved it she did.
@JatokÂ
She could have retired. Nuns do retire at a certain age. She chose not to retire. Cardinals retire, priests retire. The Pope is generally the only person in the Church who is appointed for life, he is truly the 'servant of the servants', but he is allowed to retire if he wants. They just generally don't.
She did want to retire at one time and got pressured into staying.
Why trust in a book written and altered by humans over the course of 2000 years? Sorry, no thanks. I will believe in a higher power but not at the cost of worshiping some dead being, reading a little book and taking it for fact (I certainly don't take Harry Potter books for fact, either, so why start with the Bible?), and giving 10% of my income to a man in a fancy dress who lets his minions abuse children. NEXT.
@SouthofSeattleÂ
While Bibles have been translated over the years into "current" languages, they have relied on original texts and fragments of texts that were copied, proofed and transmitted word for word down through the centuries. That isn't altering, although I do recall the Protestants took liberties with the King James version by deleting things.
@SouthofSeattle How did the Pope let anybody abuse kids you freakshow, I don't remember those priests asking for anybody's permission to abuse kids they just did it and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law as anybody else who abuses their authority in such a way
The Vatican justifies itself by arguing that its officials are holders of the divine truth, unaccountable to worldly laws. Secrecy is still a lie and a sin, murder and torture are sins, sex with children is a sin. This group has caused untold damage so many beautiful humans without consequence or care. The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a classification of objectionable vices (part of Christian ethics) wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. They continue with the same old ways because they believe they are above all laws, even their own. If any other group today was found guilty of these crimes they would be considered a radical cult and there would be a worldwide cry to disband and prosecute each and every one involved in these crimes and the cover-up. JUST SAYING.............
@JennieÂ
In 2010, the most recent stats I could find on the government website, 1570 children - most under 3 years old - were killed by family members and family friends, including stepparents. That's in ONE year, and who know how many tens of thousands didn't die but were horribly abused. Clean up your own society before you start worrying about a handful of bad priests out of hundreds of thousands who serve honorably.
@Jennie Anyone who is unaware that there are pedophiles in every profession, every organization, every school, every neighborhood and every church, contibutes to the abuse of children by turning a blind eye. It used to be the social norm to "keep it quiet", the thought was it was best for the child. The thought has changed, and the Catholic church has changed along with the new thought just like other organizations AND PARENTS have on this horrid subject. Anyone who turns a blind eye to the truth has a hand in abusing children. Some people hate Catholics more than they value children and truth and continue hating. Some people realize their mistake and admit it, others just stop spreading hate.Â
Just realize that the Vatican is it's own country, and a non-member observer at the UN. They can pretty much do whatever they want as punishment to people living and working there.
Fallen Fallen is Babylon the Great!
Babylon- steming from the word Babel..meaning Great confusion
So many people confused! Read Revelation chapters 13,15,17,18
only the Roman Catholic Church uses the golden cup and the pope and cardinals wear scarlet and purple. wake up world! Prophecy in Daniel Chapters 2 and 7 clearly show through the World History (now, was prophecy when written) that it is the Pope and Roman Papacy (RCC) who is the BEAST, the ANTICHRIST. They changed the set times and laws and oppressed the saints (killed 50 million christians during dark ages; inquisition)
But God who promised to crush Satan's head is accomplishing the last gospel work quickly! Come out of the False Churches immediately and find the truth!!!
watv.org
uccspace.net
God Bless You!
@Kristy Beard BurkholderÂ
Ummm. . .that was the plague that killed 50 million christians during the dark ages.
@Kristy Beard Burkholder
Rev 17
And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.âÂ
@Kristy Beard Burkholder Yeeeeahhhh... there are medications out there for this. I strongly suggest you look into them.
It's funny that the media doesn't have the slightest curiosity about the most powerful man in the world who affects our daily lives but really digs into the life of a person we can just ignore...
Goodwin: I don't think it's that the media doesn't have the slightest curiosity about the Pope. On the contrary. It's just that the Vatican bureaucrasy has had milenia to perfect the art of non-disclosure. It started way back when the heirarchy decided that the laity could not, should not be allowed to read or gain knowledge of what was written down or discussed. It has taken severe jolts to its assumed authority, (Luther's thesis for example), to break down the facade before real change could take place.
@Goodwin Don't think the pope affects any piece of my daily life...your logic is flawed... and I hardly see any 'man or women' as the most powerful anything in the world
@Freespeech @Goodwin As an athiest, I keep a VERY close eye on what the Vatican is up to. It affects everyone in the world more than you might think.
@mhungry @Freespeech @Goodwin How so?
I have long believed that you are only as sick as your secrets.
@pampire What about children with cancer?
Who cares if he got a pacemaker put in? Â I wouldn't want the whole world to know about it, either.
@DMT When it comes to medical issues, it seems to me that even the should Pope have the right to privacy.
this continued reverence towards a man appointed to this position and the idea that he is really a holy person is insane. its a man like any other, in special robes; just a man...
@SwampThingÂ
Pope is not a holy man, just a servant to the faithful.
@SwampThing I hope that the Pope would be the first to point that out. Like the rest of us, he is just a man. Unlike the rest of us, he is the successor to Saint Peter.
Outside of illegal activities who care what they keep private? Has it gotten to the point in our world, that any one in the "public eye" can have no privacy?
@aintno1special There are MANY hidden secrets in the Vatican, some of which would stun the world. The Church is a far cry from the tenets that Jesus proposed.Â
The First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 cherry picked which belief points would become canon and discarded anything that could weaken the alliance between the church and Constantine,  the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. It set the date for Easter and dictated what the church's stance would be on the relationship between Jesus and God.
The church has lied to us on many occasions, such as the true nature and date of the birth of Jesus (March 1, 7 BC by today's calendar) and the "virgin birth" (a mis-translation).
How can anyone trust liars?
@Glassman \ I agree with you about the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church but the BIBLE doesn't lie. People just don't know how to interpret it.Â
until now!
watv.org
uccspace.net
@Kristy Beard Burkholder I would like to recommend some titles for you to read, but zealots seldom care to be refuted.
@Kristy Beard Burkholder @Glassman The bible is nothing more than a collection of writings that have been edited and cherry picked for almost 2 millenia. The Catholic Church had already stripped out anything that might be counter to their established rules long before the Reformation and Protestant splits. The Protestants and co maintain a bible further edited and stripped down than the Catholics. Â
There currently exist well over 500 different translations(English, French, etc) and interpretations (NIV, King James, etc) of the Christian bible today alone. Not to mention all of the translations that have come before. A book with that much revision, editing, versioning, multiple translations, and just pain throwing out of sub-books cannot possibly be completely accurate, and therefore cannot be 100% true.Â
@Glassman So? Just don't be a Catholic and you don't have to worry about it.  And trusting liars is apparently what the majority of US voters do now.
@GlassmanÂ
You don't sound happier.
@Goodwin I call myself a "recovering Catholic". Quit the church in 1965, Quit Christianity in 1979. Still believe in the Creator, but don't need a congregation to lead me astray. Much happier for it.
How do you tell when a politician is lying? His lips are moving.
Geez he was evil looking guy.