There are a lot of errors in that Guardian article, which have been refuted by Protect the Pope:
The Guardian newspaper is up to its old anti-Catholic tricks of selective quoting from sources and misrepresenting facts, this time a WikiLeaked US diplomatic cable, in order to paint the Vatican and Catholic Church in the worst possible light, as can be seen from today’s headline:
‘ WikiLeaks cables:
Vatican refused to engage with child sex abuse inquiry: Leaked cable lays bare how Irish government was forced to grant Vatican officials immunity from testifying to Murphy commission.’
This headline contains two factual errors:
- The US diplomatic cable shows that the Vatican did not refuse to engage with the Murphy Commission, but did insist that the Commission use official diplomatic channels to make requests.
‘Ultimately, Vatican Secretary of State (Prime Minister equivalent) Bertone wrote to the Irish Embassy that requests related to the investigation must come through diplomatic channels via letters rogatory.’
Regrettably the Murphy Commission did not take up Cardinal Bertone’s offer to assist the investigation.
- The Irish Government was not forced to grant Vatican officials immunity from testifying to Murphy commission. Vatican officials, such as the Papal Nuncio to Ireland, do not require the granting of immunity which they possess in their own right as representatives of a sovereign state.
This fact is acknowledged in the US cable:
‘Regarding the request for the Nuncio to testify, Keleher said the GOI understood that foreign ambassadors are not required or expected to appear before national commissions.’
Protect the Pope comment: The factual errors contained in the headline and byline of The Guardian article on the WikiLeak US cable on the Vatican prove, if proof is necessary, that its editorial team and reporters cannot be trusted to give an accurate, factual report of the Vatican’s response to the Murphy Commission.
It is also obvious that The Guardian’s editorial policy to the WikiLeaks on the Vatican is to selectively quote and misrepresent the facts in order to bolster up their black propaganda against the Catholic Church.
If you want to get a true picture of the content of the WikiLeaks Us diplomatic cables its best to ignore the discredited Guardian propaganda and read the actual texts.
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