A document on priestly misconduct across the world was circulated among Roman Catholic cardinals before the conclave and may have tipped the balance in favor of Pope Benedict XVI, Italy's La Stampa newspaper reported yesterday.
The more than 10-page document outlined the main problems facing the Church particularly in Europe, Africa and North America, the newspaper said.
"After reading it, I was scared my heart would stop," an anonymous cardinal was quoted as saying.
Violations
Underlining the "lack of coherence" of too many prelates, the report gave examples of the violation of celibacy and of the secret of the confessional, but also of financial mismanagement.
The document, whose author was not immediately known, had a deep impact on then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the report said, adding that it may have been a trigger for his severe admonishments of the Church in several recent speeches.
Benedict XVI was the head of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith under his predecessor Pope John Paul II.
In his meditations for Easter Friday's Way of the Cross, Benedict XVI lambasted priests who soiled the Church -- in an apparent reference to pedophilia scandals in Austria and the US.
Filth in the church
"Should we not also think of how much Christ suffers in his own church?" he asked. "How much filth there is in the church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him. How much pride, how much self-complacency."
Again, in a homily hours before the start of the conclave that elected him, the soon-to-be pope spoke of the Church's need to stand firm in the face of opposing ideological currents.
His appeals, backed by the document, had a profound impact on his fellow cardinals, La Stampa said quoting Vatican sources, adding that a first head-count of Ratzinger supporters was made immediately after the homily.
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