Both Bertone and official Vatican spokespeople insisted that Bertone was not speaking as an official representative of the Church, but it was also noted that Bertone's high placement within the Church hierarchy and the fact that he was often named as a potential candidate for the papacy gave his words considerable weight, such that his comments were often reported by various media as an official statement from the Vatican.
Baik Bertone maupun juru bicara resmi Vatikan menegaskan bahwa Bertone tidak berbicara sebagai perwakilan resmi dari Gereja, tetapi juga tercatat bahwa penempatan tinggi Bertone di dalam hierarki Gereja (namanya sering disebut-sebut sebagai calon potensial untuk Paus berikutnya) membuat kata-katanya cukup berat, sehingga komentarnya sering dilaporkan oleh berbagai media sebagai pernyataan resmi dari Vatikan.