Pope Francis Calls Unfounded ‘Insinuations’ Against John Paul II

Pope Francis on Sunday called offensive and unfounded what he called insinuations by the brother of a Vatican student who disappeared 40 years ago in a case allegedly involving one of his predecessors as pontiff, Saint John Paul II.

Emanuela Orlandi, daughter of a Vatican doorman, did not return home on June 22, 1983 after a music lesson in Rome. She was 15 at the time and lived with her family inside the Vatican. Her disappearance is one of Italy’s oldest mysteries.

The case had a new chapter last Tuesday (11), when her brother, Pietro, met with the Vatican’s chief prosecutor, Alessandro Diddi, to whom Francis gave freedom to investigate the case.

After speaking with Diddi for more than eight hours, Pietro Orlandi appeared on a television program in which he played part of an audio recording with the voice of a man who, according to Orlandi, was part of an organized crime faction that the media Italian woman has speculated for decades that she may have been involved in her sister’s disappearance.

The alleged gangster’s voice said that more than 40 years ago girls were brought to the Vatican to be molested and that Pope John Paul II knew about it.

Orlandi then said in his own words on the program: “I am told that Wojtyla (surname of Pope John Paul II) used to go out at night with two Polish monsignors and certainly not to bless houses.”

The comments caused widespread unease and were condemned by Vatican officials in recent days, before the pope himself joined the fray in his address to an estimated 20,000 people in St Peter’s Square on Sunday.

“Clearly interpreting the feelings of the faithful from all over the world, I address a thought of gratitude to the memory of Saint John Paul II, in these days the object of offensive and unfounded insinuations”, said Francis.

The mostly Italian crowd erupted in applause.

Diddi summoned Pietro Orlandi’s lawyer, Laura Sgro, on Saturday (15). The Vatican said she invoked attorney-client confidentiality. Laura told the report on Sunday that John Paul was not mentioned in her conversation with Diddi, adding in a text message: “I never questioned the sanctity of John Paul II.”

Orlandi told the report on Sunday by telephone that it was “right for Francis to defend John Paul II”. Orlandi added that during the television appearance he “repeated what the others had said. I certainly didn’t see it alone.”

Vatican editorial director Andrea Tornielli condemned Orlandi’s comments as a “despicable” libel against the honor of the pontiff, who led the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005 and was declared a saint in 2014.