Tarcisio Bertone

On 15 March 2005, Bertone was in the news for "breaking the Church's silence" and criticizing Dan Brown's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code, saying the book was "shameful and full of unfounded lies", and that believers should boycott the book. Both Bertone and official Vatican spokespeople insisted that Bertone was not speaking as an official representative of the Catholic Church, but it was also noted that Bertone's high placement within the church hierarchy and the fact that he was often named as a potential candidate for the papacy gave his words considerable weight, such that his comments were often reported by various media as an official statement from the Vatican.[15] In 2006, the NBC news program Dateline described his statement as "a high-ranking Vatican cardinal called for a boycott of the film."

Bertone suggested in December 2006 that the Holy See "could, in future, field a team that plays at the top level, with Roma, Internazionale, Genoa and Sampdoria." He continued: "If we just take the Brazilian students from our Pontifical universities we could have a magnificent squad".[16] Hours later he said "I've got much more to do than cultivating a football squad for the Vatican" and explained that his earlier remark was not intended to be taken seriously.[17]

On 5 June 2007, at a conference announcing the release of a new biography of Pope Pius XII, Bertone defended Pius against claims of indifference toward the Jews during the Holocaust. Bertone condemned this accusation as a "black legend" and "an attack on good sense and on rationality", which has "become so firmly established that even to scratch it is an arduous task". Although he admitted that Pius XII had been "cautious" in condemning Nazi Germany, Bertone stated that Nazi forces would have intensified its program of genocide had the Pope been more outspoken.[18]

On 16 September 2006, Bertone, after one day as Cardinal Secretary of State, released a declaration explaining that the "position of the Pope concerning Islam is unequivocally that expressed by the conciliar document Nostra aetate" and that "the Pope's option in favour of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is equally unequivocal."[19] He said:[20][21]

As for the opinion of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus which he quoted during his Regensburg talk, the Holy Father did not mean, nor does he mean, to make that opinion his own in any way. He simply used it as a means to undertake—in an academic context, and as is evident from a complete and attentive reading of the text—certain reflections on the theme of the relationship between religion and violence in general, and to conclude with a clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation for violence, from whatever side it may come. [The Pope] sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions.

On 5 December 2006, Patriarch Alexy II of the Russian Orthodox Church accused the Holy See of an "extremely unfriendly policy" when he said that the Catholic Church was poaching converts in Orthodox lands in Russia and other ex-Soviet republics. Bertone said in response: "We do not want to engage in proselytism in Russia".[22]

In 2007, Bertone "blasted the media for highlighting the Vatican's views on sex while maintaining a 'deafening silence' about charity work done by thousands of Catholic organisations around the world."[23] He continued: "I see a fixation by some journalists on moral topics, such as abortion and homosexual unions, which are certainly important issues but absolutely do not constitute the thinking and work of the Church."

On 14 January 2009, Bertone suggested that the church would consider taking much stronger action against drug dealers. This action might possibly include excommunication. He made a statement about the church's alarm at the "disaster" of drug-fuelled violence on the eve of a trip to Mexico.[24]

On 22 June 2012, in an online news story article by Cindy Wooden of Catholic News Service (CNS), it was reported that, in a conference in Rome on the prevention of the transmission of HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) from mothers to children sponsored by the lay Community of Sant'Egidio (which runs the DREAM project, a free HIV prevention/treatment program in 10 African countries), the Cardinal Secretary of State urged that full and easy access to antiretroviral drugs be made free worldwide (these are drugs, such as AZT, that can treat, and in some cases, can prevent people from getting, HIV; they do not presently cure HIV once it has infected someone). Bertone acknowledged that the only way this would be remotely feasible, especially in Africa – where the efforts would be most needed and focused – would be through a collaborative effort involving aid groups, governments, donors, medical groups, pharmaceutical companies, and churches.[25]

Bertone came under fire by Antonio Socci, Christopher Ferrara, and others for allegedly manipulating the "third secret" of Our Lady of Fatima.[26] In a 2007 address on the release of his book (The Last Secret of Fatima), he emphasized the more private nature of apparitions, urged caution in accepting them, and said "the fullness of [Fatima's] message...touches the hearts of human beings, inviting them to conversion and to co-responsibility for the world's salvation".[27]

On a visit to Chile in April 2010, Bertone commented on the psychology of child abusers, suggesting a predisposition between those that are homosexual to engage in child abuse:[28]

Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there is no relationship between celibacy and paedophilia but many others have demonstrated, I was told recently, that there is a relationship between homosexuality and paedophilia.

Gay rights groups condemned his remarks. The head of one gay rights organization said that for someone of Bertone's stature "to dump the blame on homosexuals ... says a lot about the current state of desperation in the Vatican".[29]

In 1988 Bertone was appointed to a group of experts that assisted Joseph Ratzinger in negotiations with the excommunicated archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. In January 2009, Pope Benedict lifted the excommunication pronounced on four bishops created by Lefebvre as a gesture towards reconciliation. The same day, an interview on Swedish television was broadcast in which one of the bishops, Richard Williamson, supported ideas denying the Holocaust. An ensuing media uproar questioned why the Pope would welcome a Holocaust denier who had previously been accused of antisemitism. Both Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the congregation for bishops, who signed the decree and Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of the pontifical commission "Ecclesia Dei," which dealt with the followers of Lefebvre said that they were taken by surprise, and were never aware that Williamson was a Holocaust denier. As the Secretary of State has direct access to the pope, and oversees the implementation and coordination of his decisions, many in the media questioned why Bertone didn't ensure that an adequate background review was conducted, particularly as it would only have required an internet search. This gave the appearance of a disorganized curia.[30]

Bertone figured prominently in documents leaked to the media in which Bertone appears to have reproved the general secretary of the Vatican governorate, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, for reporting detailed evidence of nepotism, cronyism, and general mismanagement. Viganò was subsequently transferred from the Vatican to Washington D.C. as apostolic nuncio.[7]

Bertone blamed the scandal over leaked Vatican documents on unethical journalists and a spirit of hostility toward the Catholic Church. "Many journalists play at imitating Dan Brown", said Bertone, in an interview with the Italian magazine Famiglia Cristiana. "They continue to invent fables or repeat legends." Bertone made his remarks as Vatican judges were investigating leaks to Italian journalists of dozens of documents, including letters to the pope and encrypted cables from Vatican embassies around the world, several of which hint at power struggles among officials of the Holy See. "The truth is that there is a malicious will to produce division" among the collaborators of Pope Benedict XVI, he said.[31]

During and after the Vatican leaks scandal, Bertone was widely blamed for cronyism, failing to address corruption,[32] and failing to prevent many financial and ethical scandals under Benedict XVI.[33]

During an inflight news conference on his return to Rome from the Holy Land in May 2014, Pope Francis confirmed reports the Vatican was investigating charges against its former secretary of state misappropriated $20 million from the Vatican bank. The pope also was asked about reports that Bertone mishandled 15 million euro (about $20.5 million) in funds held by the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank. "It's something being studied, it's not clear," the Pope said. "Maybe it's the truth, but at this moment it's not definitive."[34] This money was transferred from to a private company, Lux Vide when Bertone was in charge under Benedict XVI.[35]

Between November 2013 and May 2014, Bertone combined and renovated two apartments in the San Carlo Palace in Vatican City to create a single residence for himself, a secretary, and three nuns, reportedly a total of 604-square-metre (6,500 sq ft) and a roof terrace. Bertone said he was renovating the apartment at his own expense, that it is half the size reported, and that Pope Francis telephoned him to express support when he was attacked in the press for expenditure.[36][37] Bertone responded to reports that monies belong to Bambino Gesù Hospital had been used for the construction work by donating 150,000 euros to the hospital.[38]

On 13 July 2017, the Tribunal of the Vatican City State charged Giuseppe Profiti, former president of the hospital, and Massimo Spina, its former treasurer, with illicitly using 422,000 euros belonging to the hospital's foundation to renovate the apartment.[39] Profiti said the monies were an investment that would enable the foundation to hold fundraising events at the property.[40] No charges have been filed against either Bertone, the Castelli Re construction company or its owner, Gianantonio Bandera, a longtime Bertone associate who pocketed nearly a quarter-million euros for the whole project.[41] After the trial's first hearing on 18 July, it was announced that the trial was adjourned until 7 September[42] and that court officials were open to the possibility that Bertone could be summoned as a witness when the trial resumes.[42]

On 7 September, the trial began and went into recess after one day when it was announced that new evidence emerged[43] and the defense and the prosecution requested more time to study a memorandum from Bambino Gesu Hospital's current head given to the tribunal a day earlier emerged.[44] Dates were set for the court to be in session again on 19, 20, 21 and 22 September, first to hear from the defendants themselves, and then from roughly 7 projected witnesses, four called by prosecutors and three by the two defense teams[43] between 21 and 22 September.[44] No details have emerged on whether or not Bertone will testify.

On 19 September, Profiti testified that hospital funds were used for the renovation with the idea that Cardinal Bertone could host intimate dinners for eight to ten wealthy potential donors at a time at least six times a year,[45][46] though no meetings were ever reported to have been held in Bertone's apartment.[46] On 22 September, an official of the Government of the Vatican City State testified that the remodeling project for Bertone's apartment bypassed the normal competitive bidding process and was "singular" and "anomalous."[47] The same day, Spina testified that his immediate superior "told me there were no problems because Cardinal Bertone had clarified the situation with the Holy Father in person."[48]

On 3 October 2017, Gianantonio Bandera, an Italian businessman whose now-bankrupt contracting firm renovated the apartment,[49] said that Bertone personally oversaw the renovation and contacted him directly without taking bids, as would ordinarily be required.[49]

The three-judge tribunal overseeing the trial later acquitted Spina and convicted Profiti of a lesser offense of abuse of office after the defense argued that the money was intended as an investment to benefit the hospital rather than Bertone's apartment.[50]

On 15 February 2018, Pope Francis ordered Vatican officials and bishops to lead simple lives and renounce any desire for power after they retired from senior positions. A number of Vatican officials and bishops, including Bertone, had come under fire in recent years for holding on to luxuries, such as large apartments and in some cases even police escorts, after they left office. Aside from the controversy surrounding his apartment, Bertone was also seen using escorts of Vatican and Italian police to move around Rome even after he retired.[51]

Restrictions Bertone and other Vatican officials placed on former cardinal Theodore McCarrick after the allegations of sex abuse surfaced also went unenforced.[52] On 28 May 2019 a letter from September 2008 was published, which revealed that McCarrick told Bertone that he had slept with adult seminarians, while denying sexual relations.[53]