82 year old retired Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz will head a Vatican commission to investigate leaks of confidential information to the media over the last few weeks,  reports Independent Catholic News.

The Vatican secretariat said in a statement this week that Pope Benedict XVI had ordered  the creation of a Commission of Cardinals to undertake an authoritative investigation and throw light on “recent leaks of reserved and confidential documents on television, in newspapers and in other communications media”.

"His Holiness has determined that the said Commission of Cardinals, which will act at all levels on the strength of its pontifical mandate, shall be presided by Cardinal Julian Herranz, and shall have as its members Cardinal Jozef Tomko and Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi,” said the statement.

The Commission sat for the first time on Tuesday to establish the method and timetable for its activities, said the National Catholic Reporter.

The two other members are 88-year-old retired Slovakian Cardinal Jozef Tomko, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; and the retired archbishop of Palermo, Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi, 81.

While some of the leaked letters are “gossipy”, others include allegations of serious financial misconduct.

The leaks being investigated by the Vatican began in January with the publication of letters written by Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano when he was secretary-general of the Governor's Office of Vatican City State. 

Later leaks included a letter from a Vatican official questioning the current reform of the Vatican's finance laws and letters from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, and Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Milan arguing over control of a Catholic hospital.

FULL STORY:

Vatican sets up commission to investigate leaks (Independent Catholic News/VIS)

Pope names retired cardinals to investigate source of leaks to media (National Catholic Reporter)

PHOTO CREDIT:

Screenshot from The Guardian