To recap, Vatican communications director Msgr. Dario Vigano had attempted to elicit Benedict’s endorsement of an 11-volume set he co-authored on the theology of Pope Francis, whereupon the former pontiff replied with a letter saying he would not be able to offer any support for the work.
Apparently angered by the reply, Vigano and his colleagues proceeded to alter p. 1 of the letter, and craftily hiding the second page they photographed the letter and sent it to media outlets on March 13 as a promo to rebut critics of Francis who question his theological and philosophical heft and say he represents a rupture from Benedict’s doctrine-minded papacy.
The Vatican admitted to The Associated Press on March 14 that the letter was doctored. The bottom 2 lines of p. 1 were phased out via Photoshop, so that what was highlighted was a revised p. 1 in which Benedict purportedly criticized Church conservatives for their “foolish prejudice” in not recognizing that “Pope Francis is a man of profound philosophical and theological formation.”
We now have this update from Vatican specialist Sandro Magister that an entire paragraph from p. 2 of Benedict’s letter was deleted by Vigano because Benedict therein expressed his displeasure that anti-papal heretics and enemies co-authored the 11-volume set. The deleted paragraph reads:
“Just as a side note, I would like to mention my surprise at the fact that the authors also include Professor Hünermann, who during my pontificate put himself in the spotlight by heading anti-papal initiatives. He played a major role in the promulgation of the “Kölner Erklärung,” which, in relation to the encyclical “Veritatis Splendor,” virulently attacked the magisterial authority of the pope, especially on questions of moral theology. Also the “Europäische Theologengesellschaft,” which he founded, was initially designed as an organization in opposition to the papal magisterium….
“I am certain that you will have understanding for my declination.”
Magister says in his report, “The letter by Benedict XVI that Settimo Cielo published on March 13 in its complete form was in reality not complete. Between the paragraph omitted in the press release and the valediction there were, in fact, other lines.”
And so we see the Vatican attempting to use the aging Benedict to endorse the multi-volume work that was co-authored by arch-enemies of the papacy and the Church. Deo Gratias that Papa Benedict is still in his wits!
What we need to consider more closely is the diabolical nature of the individual who orchestrated the fake letter. The fact is that Vigano, a known homosexual, hired the radical LGBT communications company Accenture to redo and take over the Vatican’s news service in 2017, which is precisely what led to this insidious...
