Any attempts to isolate Pope Francis and portray a rift between him and the rest of the Catholic Church would be "diabolical" if proven, the head of the Italy's Catholic Bishops' Conference, Angelo Bagnasco said on Thursday.
His comments came on the day that Italian journalist Gianlugi Nuzzi's explosive book Merchants in the Temple was published. It alleges the Vatican is a "black hole" of mismanagement and greed where millions of euros are lost and defenders of the status quo will stop at nothing to thwart Francis’ financial reform drive.
"There is great bitterness at the pain caused to the Holy Father by the bad example set by this scandal - should it be true and be possible to document," Bagnasco said.
"It certainly creates confusion and disorientation among God's flock."
"But the Pope is not at all alone, he is surrounded and cordially, affectionately and loyally supported by all his bishops. So I am not worried," Bagnasco stated.
Two former members of Pope Francis' reform commission were arrested last weekend on suspicion of leaking confidential documents and secret recordings to Nuzzi and another Italian journalist, Emiliano Fittipaldi, whose book Avarice, also contains explosive claims of corruption at the Vatican.
Tarciso Bertone, the former Vatican secretary-of-state on Thursday denied Fittipaldi's allegation that a foundation supporting a pediatric hospital in Rome paid 200,000 euros towards renovating his sprawling apartment. Bertone said he paid for the work himself with his savings.
The arrests and books mark a new phase in the so-called 'Vatileaks' scandal. It began in 2012 when Pope Benedict XVI's butler was convicted on charges he supplied Nuzzi with stolen documents for his earlier Vatican expose, the best-selling His Holiness.
The stolen private letters between Benedict and his private secretary disclosed venomous infighting at the top of the Catholic Church and serious graft allegations in the Vatican government.
