Cardinal Ruini says press went awry reporting Vatileaks case
Pope's butler case 'mainly about bad journalism'18 October, 16:57
"Very little (happened) in the way that newspapers presented it," Ruini said.
According to his account, that is why the trial of the pope's ex-butler Paolo Gabriele, who was convicted of stealing and leaking Popoe Benedict XVI's confidential papers to the press, was done in a public manner. "To give a more realistic idea of what truly occurred," he said. Ruini downplayed the importance of the leaks themselves and emphasized the "disrespectful" way the information was obtained.
"There's no need to have fear" of journalistic inquiries into the Vatican and the Catholic Church, he said, but "one can ask those who do it to go about it correctly. "If they do it correctly there's no harm done". Ruini is also pope's former vicar for the Roman diocese. The pope's former butler was sentenced to 18 months in jail earlier this month. Vatican watchers say he is likely to be pardoned by the pope.