Rev. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, has denounced the leak of private correspondence between a number of conservative cardinals and Pope Francis on Tuesday. The cardinals allegedly complained about the Holy Father's synod, as well as his handling of issues relating to the modern family, and addressed them in a letter that was sent to the pope, according to Yahoo! News.
The leak was brought to the attention of an Italian journalist, who published the letter on Monday and named the 13 cardinals who were behind it. However, a number of the cardinals whose names were tied to the leaked letter said that they never signed it, reports NPR News.
Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican's finance manager, confirmed that he was behind the initiative. He said that he, along with a number of conservatives, wanted to address a number of issues in front of the pope through the letter.
The Vatican, however, has stated that even if there are dissenting voices regarding the Holy Father's decisions regarding issues related to the synod and the modern Catholic family in general, the cardinals behind the letter are duty-bound to follow the pope's decrees.
"It's not surprising. Observations and doubts were expressed about the new synod rules. But once they've been established, the synod fathers must apply them in the best possible way," Lombardi said.
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