Dark spots only small part of church's reality, says Vatican official

Published: 2007-08-21

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Dark spots exist in the Catholic Church, but they are only a small part of the reality of the church and its members, said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state. In an Aug. 20 interview with Vatican Radio, the cardinal said media that focus only on the failures of church members are giving the public a distorted vision of the church. "It is as if they presented a dark fragment of the great, restored Sistine Chapel, which is a splendor and has reacquired Michelangelo's original colors," the cardinal said. As a historical record, the restoration workers left some spots untouched to show the dirt and grime that had accumulated. "If someone pointed a television camera at one of these dark spots to show the Sistine Chapel instead of focusing on the splendor of the Sistine Chapel (as a whole), it would be a falsification," he said. The dark spots are part of the chapel, he said, but they do not portray accurately the overall impact of Michelangelo's masterpiece. In the same way, Cardinal Bertone said, "the church is a great masterpiece of God's and of the men and women of the church," who have done and continue to do "an immense volume of good in every part of the world."

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