Italian bishops defend justice, truth and the 'good of the Church'

Rome, Italy, Feb 11, 2010 / 11:18 am

Leaders of the Italian Bishops' Conference expressed their commitment to justice, truth and the good of the Church in response to a media campaign which has been highly critical of the Vatican.

In a statement yesterday, the bishops lent their support to the Vatican who remarked on Tuesday that Benedict XVI “deplores” the “unjust and injurious attacks” circulating in the media against the former editor of the Italian Bishops' Conference daily paper.

Dino Boffo resigned from his editorial position of L'Avvenire last fall based on claims from a local Italian paper that he was a “renowned homosexual” and that he had been fined for allegedly harassing the wife of a man he was interested in.

Though the author of the article, Vittorio Feltri of the Il Giornale, later admitted that his assertions were based on false documents, the media frenzy surrounding the scandal has shifted to recent claims by Feltri that the Holy See created the falsified dossier. Those implicated by Feltri include individuals such as the editor of L'Osservatore Romano and the Cardinal Secretary of State.

The Vatican rebuffed these claims in a Tuesday statement, insisting, “These news items and reconstructions have no basis whatsoever in fact.”  The statement went on to defend the Church affirming that the good it does must not be compromised by news reports and distortions working to defame the Holy See.

In their statement, the Italian bishops recalled that the Lord gives strength to his Church as they renewed their “efforts to work for the affirmation of truth and justice.”