The Vatican on Saturday accused the Italian media of spreading "false
and damaging" reports in what it condemned as a deplorable attempt to
influence cardinals who will meet in a secret conclave next month to
elect a new pope.
Since Pope Benedict announced his resignation on Feb. 11, Italian
newspapers have been full of rumors about conspiracies, secret reports
and lobbies in the Vatican that they say pushed the pope to abdicate,
including a rumor that involved a shadowy "gay lobby" within the
Vatican.
CNN Senior Vatican Analyst John Allen, who is also a correspondent with
the National Catholic Reporter, cautioned that such unsourced
speculation should be taken with a grain of salt.
While Allen said he doesn't know for sure whether a network based on
sexual orientation was investigated by the Vatican, he said "frankly, it
would be a little surprising if they hadn't" — given past scandals that
have come to light.