What is the truth about the Pope
Milena Kindziuk
The book provokes to seek answers to the question why Benedict XVI is being attacked today.
The latest book ‘La verità del Papa' about Benedict XVI shows mechanisms of manipulation, which the media used against the Pope. Its author Aldo Maria Valli, as he said himself, made an attempt to defend the Holy Father. ‘All the accusations made by the world are groundless,’ he says. Therefore, the Italian title means ‘the truth of the Pope’ and is more adequate than the Polish translation ‘Ratzinger under Threat.’
Valli quotes the most known examples of manipulations of the media regarding the sex scandals in the Church for which many environments tried to blame first of all Benedict XVI. But this Pope, before his election, was fighting to reveal these cases and to change the regulations of the canon law when he directed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. We were dealing with similar manipulations and distortions of the Holy Father’s words during his visit to Africa when he said that one could not think about solving the AIDS problem by only distributing the condoms. Several minutes later the world heard the news that the Pope co-participated in spreading AIDS in Africa!
It is obvious that the world does not understand the Pope. However, according to Valli’s publication Benedict XVI understands the world well. And so does he understand man. That’s why since the beginning of his pontificate he asks questions about the limits of human freedom. He keeps stressing that in the Christian understanding freedom does not mean doing what one wishes and what the contemporary ideologies propose. Moral norms, stable and unchangeable principles are important. That’s why according to the Italian journalist, ‘In the Pope’s opinion abortion or euthanasia cannot have legal forms.’
The book provokes to seek answers to the question why Benedict XVI is being attacked so fiercely today. Aldo Maria Valli gives some solutions. He claims that there are powerful forces: economic, political, cultural in the world and they have their own interests opposing the values Benedict XVI proclaims.
‘The attacks against the Pope were planned just after the conclave since when he was a cardinal he was seen as an unyielding guard of Christian values, i.e. someone dangerous and someone to be fought against,’ Aldo Maria Valli stresses.
‘The interesting thing is that the author writes that people showing some disapproval towards the Pope and some of his views are also within the Church herself. It is surely an important publication and moreover, those who deal with the life of the Church must read it.
"Niedziela" 5/2011