Cardinals Discuss ‘Hopes and Expectations’ of New Pope

On Wednesday, however, under pressure from their fellow cardinals, the Americans canceled their news briefing and shut down all communication with the news media to address a different problem: rampant leaks to the Italian news media in the delicate period of meetings ahead of the conclave, expected to begin next week.

But the tensions over how to address the news media — with American-style forthrightness or the ancient and more indirect ways of Italy — reflected a deeper culture clash between the Vatican as a global church, whose faithful often expect direct answers, and an Italian institution where secrecy is the rule but leaks often the norm.

That tension is certain to be on the minds of the cardinals as they gather to select the future leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

The cardinals swore an oath of secrecy before the meetings, prohibiting them from discussing their contents. But some cardinals have nevertheless spoken to news outlets from their home countries, including Brazil, Germany and France, sometimes sending what could be interpreted as direct messages to fellow cardinals.

Although the Americans had been the soul of discretion, careful not to violate their vows of secrecy while trying to explain their thoughts on the selection process, their strategy of taking direct questions — including about the sex abuse crisis — seemed to some Vatican observers to veer over the line into a subtle campaign for the papacy.

In the weeks since Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation and retirement, the Vatican has repeatedly said that cardinals selecting the next pope should not be swayed by statements in the news media. The Vatican Secretariat of State even compared news reports to the pressures exerted by foreign crowns to influence conclaves in past centuries.

In a terse statement on Wednesday, Sister Mary Ann Walsh, the spokeswoman for the American bishops, said, “The U.S. cardinals are committed to transparency and have been pleased to share a process-related overview of their work with members of the media and with the public.” They did so, she said, while still ensuring the confidentiality of the General Congregations, in which cardinals assess one another and discuss what they believe the church needs.

“Due to concerns over accounts being reported in the Italian press, which breached confidentiality, the College of Cardinals has agreed not to give interviews,” she added.

Those accounts in the Italian news media included tales of disagreement over the slow pace of the proceedings, and the potential advantage of non-Italian candidates for pope. Some also reported that individual cardinals advanced proposals to make it easier for branches of the Vatican to communicate better.

The leaks revealed a uniquely Italian combination of hierarchy and anarchy, in which cardinals sworn to secrecy — or perhaps their aides — leak juicy gossip and convey messages through their favorite local reporters. Vatican watchers say that approach helped lead to the scandal of leaked documents that contributed to Benedict’s decision to resign, leaving the job to someone younger and stronger.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Wednesday that it was not up to the Vatican to tell the cardinals how to handle the news media, adding that the tradition of the conclave “is also a tradition of reserve to protect the liberty” of each cardinal so he can make his decision freely.

At his daily Vatican briefings, Father Lombardi, an amiable Jesuit with a nervous cough, often combines painstaking attention to liturgical detail with general evasion of thornier questions. Journalists have also been shown silent and surreal video images of the silver, wok-shaped urns in which cardinals will cast their ballots for pope. In the video, a mysterious hand opens the urn, a move more reminsicent of the Home Shopping Network than C-Span.

Daniel J. Wakin contributed reporting.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/07/world/europe/roman-catholic-cardinals-discuss-hopes-and-expectations-of-new-pope.html?partner=rss&emc=rss