Cardinal Petroni turned his attention to the more immediate matter of the Pope’s health. At the press of a button the dark panelled doors of the TV cabinet hidden in the far wall slid silently aside. The CCN six o’clock news bulletin was mandatory viewing for the Vatican hierarchy but the two lead items would surprise many of the cardinals and others in the corridors of power in Rome. Petroni was not surprised by either of them. He was irritated by the speculation about to be aired over the Omega Scroll, but not surprised. Daniel P. Kirkpatrick III, CCN’s News Director in New York, was a Knight of Malta, and like the other Knights of Malta around the world, he kept the Cardinal Secretary of State informed on what might be about to affect the Vatican well before it made the news. In return, Knights of Malta had direct access to the Apostolic Palace.
‘Ten seconds, Tom.’ The journalist was the tall and charismatic Tom Schweiker, CCN’s veteran Pulitzer Prize winning Middle East correspondent and occasional reporter on the Holy See. Dressed in a dark blue, open-necked shirt, Tom Schweiker was broad across the shoulders and his face was weathered and lined from countless hours spent in the desert sun. He had a square jaw, a long and aristocratic nose, and his well-groomed greying hair matched his inquisitive grey eyes. The cue sounding in his earpiece came from CCN’s studios in New York as Tom Schweiker composed himself for his piece to camera. Michelangelo’s dome of St Peter’s provided a stately backdrop.
‘Speculation is mounting,’ he began, in a deep, cultured voice, ‘that one of the longest serving Popes of the modern age may be about to retire on the grounds of ill health.’ Schweiker paused to allow his opening to have the desired effect. He had the ability to make each of the millions of CCN’s viewers feel that he was talking to them personally.
‘CCN has obtained the latest medical report on the Pope and it casts significant doubt on his ability to continue.’
‘Does it make any recommendations, Tom?’ asked CCN’s New York anchor, Geraldine Rushmore.
‘No, it doesn’t, Geraldine, but as we all know, the Pope has been suffering from Parkinson’s for many years now. This is a progressively degenerative neurological disorder, and although there is some promising research being done with adult stem cells, modern medicine still doesn’t have a cure. It affects the control of body movements and that, unfortunately, is all too evident in the Pope’s public appearances.’
‘Have other Popes resigned before this, Tom?’
‘Not recently, Geraldine, although Church Law doesn’t prevent it. In the entire history of the Papacy only six have done so, the last being Gregory XII way back in 1415.’
‘Who will make the final decision, Tom?’
‘That’s the difficulty. While the Pope still has his faculties it will be up to him and he’s not known as someone who readily gives up. In fact, it’s his stubbornness that has been the most criticised aspect of his Papacy. Although, interestingly enough, I understand that an undated resignation document has been prepared. So perhaps the Pope is allowing for that eventuality.’
‘He’s still astute?’
‘My sources tell me that the Pope’s mind is still very sharp, but none of us can go on for ever.’
‘No indeed, Tom, and on another front there is speculation that a copy of the Omega Scroll may have surfaced.
‘It’s only speculation. Rumours about this scroll have been around for decades, but no one has ever claimed to have seen it.’
‘Do we know what’s in it, Tom?’
‘Not exactly, but the Israeli archaeologist and mathematician Professor Yossi Kaufmann has discovered that this particular Dead Sea Scroll contains a secret code. He’s suggesting there may be a link between the Omega Scroll and the outcome of the War on Terror.’
‘The “Clash of Civilisations”?’
Tom nodded. ‘Kaufmann has suggested that the destruction of Western civilisation has begun, and in a reverse of the Crusades of the Middle Ages Islam will triumph over Christianity and the West. No doubt that is music to the ears of al-Qaeda and the followers of Osama bin Laden.’
Kaufmann, a respected Israeli scholar and member of the Knesset, had gone out on a limb and had been roundly criticised for his pronouncements. Hardbitten journalists had scoffed at his ideas, but now Tom Schweiker was less sceptical. The continuing US-backed Israeli attacks against the Palestinians and the US, British and Australian attack on Iraq had fanned widespread resentment in the Arab world and it was getting worse. Tom’s links to the CIA were impeccable and he had seen the reports that had been kept hidden from the wider public, reports that al-Qaeda now possessed at least seven of the nuclear suitcase bombs that had gone missing when the Soviet Union collapsed.
‘Thanks, Tom. We’ll leave it there and I look forward to speaking to you when you return to the Middle East.’
‘Pleasure, Geraldine.’
‘That was Tom Schweiker reporting for CCN News from the Vatican in Rome. Difficult times for the Papacy and a sobering prediction from Israel. Now to the day in Congress…’
Cardinal Petroni dismissed any thought of Islam triumphing over Christianity. Tonight he was more focused on the report on the Pope’s health and a gleam of satisfaction crept into his steely blue eyes. The arcane art of leaking; it was one of Petroni’s many skills. He had recognised the power of the media at an early stage in his career, and had learned the rules well.
Rule 1: Establish a trust with a reputable media outlet and make sure the information you feed is accurate. Journalists hated nothing more than to get it wrong. In the dog-eat-dog world of journalism criticism from colleagues was often worse than that of irate editors.
Rule 2: Feed the media just enough to suit your purpose, but not enough to have the leak sourced back to you. Or if there was any danger of that, have the journalist disguise the source – ‘Well-placed government officials, sources close to the Vatican…’ And always refer to sources in the plural. It confused those who might be looking for the leak.
Cardinal Petroni buzzed Monsignor Servini, the Head of the Vatican Press Office.
‘Yes, Eminence?’
‘Why is it, Monsignor, that I have just seen that journalist from CCN purporting to have a report on the Holy Father’s medical condition?’
‘I’ve only just viewed the broadcast myself, Eminence, but I have ordered an immediate investigation.’
‘I want a report on my desk within twenty-four hours.’
‘Of course, Eminence.’
Cardinal Petroni snapped off the intercom.
Rule 3: Be at the forefront of denouncing and demanding the identification of the leak.
Petroni pushed the red button on the remote and absentmindedly watched the television retreat into its panelled alcove. Well-connected Knights of Malta like Kirkpatrick had their uses, he mused. Petroni had always been attracted to the Knights’ history of savaging Islam and he had often imagined himself participating in their fierce attacks on Muslim pirates in the Mediterranean, launched from the island of Malta that was granted to the Knights by Charles V in 1530 and from which they took their name. The fight against Islam, he reflected, had been going on for centuries but he had no doubt that like the earlier Knights of Malta, the one true Faith of Christianity would prevail. The item on the Omega Scroll had been annoying, but for Cardinal Petroni information meant power and Kirkpatrick’s early warning had given him time to calmly consider the implications. Petroni concluded that the speculation on the Omega Scroll would die. It always had in the past and the media always moved on.
The Vatican’s Cardinal Secretary of State would not have been so confident had he realised the broadcast had also been seen by Jerry Buffett, the leading televangelist in the United States.