Yahoo – AFP,
Ella Ide, 2 Nov 2015
 |
The Vatican
says Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda was arrested as part
of an
investigation into the "misappropriation and disclosure of classified
documents and information" (AFP Photo/Gabriel Bouys)
|
Vatican
City (AFP) - The Vatican has arrested a Spanish prelate and social media expert
for allegedly stealing and leaking classified documents in the second such
scandal to hit the secretive institution in three years.
Monsignor
Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, 54, who served on a special commission set up by
Pope Francis to advise him on economic reform within the Vatican, was arrested
along with a second member of the commission, Francesca Chaouqui, who has been
dubbed a "sex bomb".
The arrests
were part of a several months-long investigation into the
"misappropriation and disclosure of classified documents and
information".
 |
Pope
Francis leads a mass at the
Campo di Verano cemetery in Rome, on
November 1,
2015 (AFP Photo/Alberto
Pizzoli)
|
Both
Vallejo Balda and social media expert Chaouqui, 33, were arrested but she was
released by Vatican prosecutor Roberto Zannotti on Monday because she agreed to
collaborate with investigators and was not considered a flight risk.
Chaouqui's
appointment to the economic committee, which was handpicked by the pope, caused
no little embarrassment in 2013 when it emerged the woman dubbed a "sex
bomb" by the Italian media had been highly critical of the Vatican on
Twitter.
Vatican
expert Sandro Andrea Tornielli said Monday it was Vallejo Balda who got Chaouqui
a place on the committee.
A furious
Vatican also denounced the expected publication this week of two new books
believed to be based on leaks from hackers releasing information regarding the
famously murky world of its finances.
And it
referred to the last time employees aired the centuries-old institution's dirty
laundry.
'Serious
betrayal of trust'
In 2012,
Pope Benedict XVI's butler engineered a series of leaks that revealed fierce
infighting in the highest echelons of the Catholic Church and allegations of
serious fraud in the running of the city state.
Butler
Paolo Gabriele was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing secret papal
memos but pardoned by Pope Benedict, who nonetheless banished the once loyal
servant from the Vatican for good.
"As
far as the books announced for the coming days go, it is clear that this time
too, just as in the past, they are the fruit of a serious betrayal of the
pope's trust," the Vatican statement said.
It also
dismissed any attempts to echo the butler's excuse that he leaked the
information for the pope's own good.
 |
Pope
Benedict XVI's former butler Paolo Gabriele (right) was pardoned
by the then
pontiff in 2012 after he was jailed for stealing documents from
the Vatican
(AFP Photo/Alberto Pizzoli)
|
"Merchants
in the Temple", by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, follows his 2012
book which was based on information gathered from Benedict's butler in a
scandal some believe was the reason behind the pontiff's historic resignation.
Nuzzi is
reported to be friends with Chaouqui, who hit the headlines again in 2014 when
she was suspected of having organised a lavish party for the rich and famous on
a Vatican terrace at the Holy See's expense -- much to Francis's fury.
The Vatican
said it was considering taking legal action against the journalists.
Francis was
tasked by his cardinal electors to stamp his authority on the bickering Curia,
the Church's governing body, and clean up the Vatican bank -- but the fresh
leaks looked set to fuel criticisms of his reform programme.
His drive for
transparency at the bank, once renowned for shady dealings, has ruffled
feathers and supporters say the pontiff has been targeted by revengeful
mudslingers -- including those behind a rumour last month, denied by the
Vatican, that Francis has a benign brain tumour.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.