Vatican City, Nov 28, 2011 / 16:25 pm
The release of all documents bearing the Pope’s signature must follow certain procedures to defend the integrity of papal teaching, says a new memo from the Vatican Secretariat of State to the cardinals and archbishops who head the Roman curia’s congregations, tribunals, pontifical councils and offices.
Archbishop Angelo Maria Becciu, the present head of the secretariat’s First Section, said in the Nov. 4 memo that the circulation of unrevised or improperly released texts could harm the integrity of papal teaching.
When a document signed by the Pope is published, the document must be sent in printed form and with an electronic backup to the Secretariat of State with a reasonable estimate of the expected publication date. After “careful review” of its contents, the secretariat will distribute it to the Holy See’s various media outlets.
Veteran Vatican reporter Sandro Magister published the memo on the Italian newspaper L’Espresso’s religious affairs website Chiesa.