VATICAN CITY – The story of Pope Benedict’s surprise resignation took a shocking turn last night, as Vatican insiders told Duffel Blog about an alleged affair between the leader of the Catholic Church and his biographer, Paula Broadwell. The biography, "Deep Inside the Vatican" was scheduled to be published in early April.

Broadwell is best known as the biographer, groupie, and occasional field mattress of former CIA Director and four-star Army General David Petraeus. Petraeus resigned unexpectedly in November after his affair with Broadwell became known.

According to the Vatican officials, who are highly placed and possess a Deus Ex Machina clearance, the affair between Pope Benedict and Broadwell became known ex post facto after a security complaint to the Vatican's Internet server led to the discovery of a series of racy e-mails between the two.

At one point Duffel Blog was shown a screenshot of what officials claimed was a private e-mail il Papa sent Broadwell, saying "Omnia Paula in tres partes divisa est. lol." The authenticity of the screenshot could not be verified.