Pope Francis defended the late Pope John Paul II. This is “nowadays the subject of insulting and unfounded accusations”, complained today the leader of the Catholic Church after the Regina Coeli prayer in front of the faithful in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Francis did not say what allegations he was referring to.
In March, a documentary caused an uproar in Karol Wojtyla’s home country of Poland, accusing him of knowing about allegations of abuse against priests in the 1960s and 1970s before he was elected pope as Archbishop of Krakow and protecting perpetrators by transfer.
Orlando case
However, Italian and Vatican media linked Francis’ statement with statements made by the brother of Emanuela Orlandi, who disappeared nearly 40 years ago. The judiciary of the Papal States has been investigating the case since January. Prosecutors want to investigate the suspicion and the clues according to which Orlandi, the daughter of a Curia official and a Vatican citizen, was kidnapped or murdered. The teenager did not return home on June 22, 1983 after a music lesson in the historic center of Rome. A body was never found.
After a meeting with the Vatican’s main prosecutor, his brother Pietro returned to comment on the case on a TV program last Tuesday. He said he was convinced that both Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI. and Francisco knew or knows what happened at that time.
However, one statement that left room for interpretation caused a stir: Orlandi said he had heard that Wojtyla was often going out at night with two friends, two Polish priests, and certainly not to “bless the houses”. He later clarified on another show that he never accused John Paul II of pedophilia. His words were used to make headlines.