Papal spokesman Lombardi to resign in May?

Damian Thompson at Holy Smoke picks up on some circulating reports:

The Pope's press officer, Fr Federico Lombardi, is to resign after Benedict XVI's visit to the Holy Land, according to Italian and German press reports.

Fr Lombardi, a Jesuit, presided over the mega-disaster of the Williamson affair. The Pope's decision to lift the SSPX excommunications was not his responsibility, but the Church's failure to anticipate the row and its grotesquely slow response to the worldwide row most certainly was.

Then he allowed a question about Aids, condoms and Africa to be asked aboard the papal plane, which the Pope handled with less than total assurance and clarity. Sorry to have to make that point, but the fact that the Vatican press office felt it necessary to tinker with his quotes afterwards is revealing, don't you think?

How about also addressing the Secretariat of State's involvement in these recent fiascoes?

update - related:

[David Gibson:] "Just as a bit of housekeeping, it seems that after changing some of Pope Benedict’s comments on condoms when he was in Africa–and prompting an uproar about the uproar–the official text is back to what the pope originally said on the plane to reporters. Why? Perhaps Fr. Lombardi told them to set it aright. Perhaps they are more confident that they can argue their case. Either way, here it is…"

Perhaps Fr. Lombardi got a talking-to, or whoever was responsible.

update 2 - context: Good analysis from Joan Desmond.