Inside the Vatican
Pope Francis is being acclaimed for his leadership of the Roman Catholic Church, but why did his predecessor suddenly resign? Mark Dowd travels to Rome to investigate.
Pope Francis is being acclaimed for his leadership of the Roman Catholic Church with even secular newspapers running headlines like "Pope Idol". But he was only elected because last February his predecessor Benedict XVI became the first Pope in centuries to resign. Was it a simple matter of ill health, or was he impelled to step down because of scandals at the Vatican Bank, claims of a "gay cabal" within the Vatican and the Vatileaks affair, in which the Pope's butler was arrested for leaking confidential documents?
Mark Dowd travels to Rome to try to find the truth behind the Papal resignation. He talks to, among others, Cardinal Francis Arinze, who was present at the momentous meeting at which Benedict announced his decision to step down.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Find out more - read Mark Dowd's article on the 成人论坛 News magazine website.
Pope Francis
Mark Dowd travels to Argentina to probe the background of the new Pope.
Sex Abuse and the Catholic Church
Did the Pope fail to act on key sex abuse cases?
Broadcast
- Thu 28 Nov 2013 20:00成人论坛 Radio 4
Featured in...
The Best of The Report: Faith and Religion—The Report, Women Bishops
The Report investigates issues affecting religious institutions and faith organisations.
Download this programme
Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.
The Best of The Report
Listen again to the best investigations from The Report team
Podcast
-
The Report
Original insights into major news stories and topical investigations