Pope Francis condemns ‘offensive and baseless’ insinuations about St John Paul II

Pope Francis publicly defended the late pontiff, Saint John Paul II whereas condemning the current insinuations as “offensive and baseless” by the brother of a Vatican schoolgirl who went lacking 40 years in the past. The remarks had been made on Sunday (April 16), when Francis was addressing round 20,000 vacationers and pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Sq.. 

What had been the ‘insinuations’?

The pope’s remarks got here days after the Vatican media referred to as an audiotape from a purported Roman mobster, “slanderous” who insinuated that John Paul would exit searching for underage ladies to molest. The audio clip in query was performed on an Italian TV program by Pietro Orlandi, the brother of a schoolgirl named Emanuela Orlandi, who was additionally the daughter of a Vatican usher. 

The alleged mobster mentioned that greater than 40 years in the past, ladies had been introduced into the Vatican to be molested and that Pope John Paul knew about it. In 1983, Emanuela, who was 15 years outdated, on the time, didn’t return residence on June 22 after a music lesson in Rome. She lived along with her dad and mom in a Vatican Metropolis condo. 

After years of investigating her disappearance, it continues to stay certainly one of Italy’s most enduring mysteries and has given rise to a number of theories over time. 

A current Netflix documentary “Vatican Woman” which checked out among the prospects associated to the case additionally supplied new testimony. It confirmed a good friend who mentioned that Emanuela had advised her per week earlier than her disappearance {that a} high-ranking Vatican cleric had made sexual advances towards her. 

In current days, the audio clip has triggered a stir within the Vatican with many condemning and criticising the insinuation concerning the late pontiff. 

On Sunday, Francis defended John Paul whose papacy spanned from 1978 to 2005 and mentioned, “Sure that I’m decoding the feelings of the trustworthy from everywhere in the world, I categorical a grateful thought to the reminiscence of St John Paul, who in as of late has been the thing of offensive and unfounded insinuations.” 

In a telephonic interview with Reuters, Orlandi, on Sunday additionally mentioned that it was “right that Francis defended John Paul II,” including that throughout the TV look, he was simply “repeating what others had mentioned. I actually didn’t see it myself.”

Nonetheless, John Paul’s secretary, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, all through his management referred to as Orlandi’s actions “ignoble, unrealistic, laughable in the event that they weren’t tragic, even legal”. In the meantime, even Pietro’s lawyer, Laura Sgro, has insisted her consumer wasn’t accusing anybody, reported Related Press. 

(With inputs from companies) 

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