Vatican orders inquiry into 'cowardly' leaks

The Pope has taken the unusual step of setting up an internal, criminal investigation to identify the source of damaging leaks of compromising Vatican documents.

The inquiry will seek to punish the insiders who leaked the papers, whom the Vatican hierarchy regard as "disloyal and cowardly".

Pope Benedict XVI had been "hurt" by the leaks, said Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Vatican's deputy secretary of state and third most powerful Vatican figure, in an interview with L'Osservatore Romano, the city state's daily newspaper.

Documents leaked to the Italian press over the last few weeks have shed light on dark power struggles between senior cardinals, alleged corruption and nepotism in the running of the Vatican administration, and a mysterious prediction that the 84-year-old pontiff would die within a year, possibly as a result of an assassination attempt.

Msgr Becciu described whistle-blowers as "cowardly" and "deeply disloyal" and warned that they would face the full force of the law from Vatican prosecutors.

They had abused the trust placed in them by leaking the documents, he said.

The investigation will be conducted by a tribunal and will look at all departments in the Vatican administration. Msgr Becciu also defended the reputation of the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, saying it was wrong to depict it as a hotbed of "plots and careerism".

The rare criminal investigation will draw on an inquiry already opened by the Vatican's own police force, the Gendarmerie, into how the leaks happened.

The Pope also decided to set up a special commission into the affair in order to re-establish "trust" within the Holy See. The commission will be composed of cardinals chosen by him,

Meanwhile, the Pope, who turns 85 next month, is preparing for an official six-day trip to Mexico and Cuba, which starts on Friday.