Departing Papal Prime Minister Lashes Out at Vatican 'Crows and Vipers'

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A day after he was replaced at the Vatican, the much criticised papal prime minister Tarcisio Bertone has dramatically hit back at his opponents, claiming he was surrounded by 'crows and vipers' at the Vatican who tried to undermine him.

Defending his record despite a series of gaffes and scandals on his watch, Cardinal Bertone, 78, also appeared to suggest that any blame for errors should [be] shared by Pope Benedict, who appointed him as secretary of state, effectively his number two, in 2006.

The surprise backlash followed the announcement on Saturday that Pope Francis had named Archbishop Pietro Parolin, 58, currently nuncio in Venezuela, as Cardinal Bertone’s replacement, with a hand over due in October.

Any consideration of Cardinal Bertone’s track record focuses on the leaking by Benedict’s butler of papal correspondence which alleged that Cardinal Bertone was running a Vatican riven by petty rivalries, corruption and mismanagement.

In what was known as the Vatileaks affairs, the sources of the leaked documents were nicknamed “crows”. » | Tom Kington in Rome | Monday, September 02, 2013