Pope Benedict XVI performing a blessing during the canonization mass in St. Peter's Square. Photo: wiki commons.

CNN – The Vatican expressed rare public anger Wednesday in blasting the leaking of private papers from the pope’s apartment, a scandal that observers say lifts the lid on a secret power struggle going on behind the closed doors of the Catholic Church.

A top Roman Catholic Church official called the theft of the documents “an immoral act of unprecedented gravity” and “despicable abuse of the relationship of trust that exists between Benedict XVI and those who turn to him.”

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