Vatican investigates mystery over hacked computer belonging to finance chief, by Nick Squires, Telegraph (UK) (November 1, 2015)

Vatican investigates mystery over hacked computer belonging to finance chief

By Nick Squires
Telegraph (UK)
November 1, 2015

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/11968758/Vatican-investigates-mystery-over-hacked-computer-belonging-to-finance-chief.html

A hacker using a laptop computer (model released)

Pope Francis waves during his Sunday Angelus prayer in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican

78 years The pope's age. He was born in Buenos Aires and is of Italian descent 1969 The year he was ordained as a Jesuit. In 1992, he became a bishop and in 1998, Archbishop of Buenos Aires 6-7 million people The size of the crowd that gathered in Manila in 2015 to see Pope Francis, making it the largest ever papal gathering 70 reporters Travelled with Pope Francis on the papal plane on a visit to Cuba in September 2015 7.23 million followers The size of the Pope's Twitter following 8 cars The number of vehicles used during his papacy, including: a Hyundai Santa Fe, a 1984 Renault, a Ford Focus, a Jeepney, an Isuzu, a Kia Sedona, a Kia Soul and a Fiat 500L 300 people The number of individuals Pope Francis said could be housed in the Papal apartments used by previous pontiffs (he lives in a Vatican residence for visiting clergy and lay people)

On free speech: "You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others” On gay priests: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” On the environment: "The Earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth" On misogyny: "The fact is that the woman was taken from a rib [laughs loudly]. I'm joking. That was a joke” On birth control: "Some think that...in order to be good Catholics we have to be like rabbits. No. We need responsible paternity" On frugality: "It hurts my heart when I see a priest with the latest model car. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger"

Vatican police are investigating whether an insider unhappy with Pope Francis and his drive for transparency hacked into a computer belonging to the Holy See’s auditor general.

The Vatican gendarmerie, which is responsible for security in the sovereign city state, is trying to find out who may have tried to steal information from a laptop belonging to Libero Milone, the head of the audit office.

There were rumours the person behind the attack could be someone within the Vatican who opposes Pope Francis’s reform of Holy See finances and his drive for more accountability.

That could include someone who has lost influence or power as a result of new appointments.

The prime suspect in the case was a monsignor working within the Vatican, according to Ansa, Italy’s national news agency.

Pope Francis appointed Mr Milone, 67, as the head of a new finance office in June, with the task of overseeing the accounts and financial statements of departments within the Curia and the Governorate, the twin arms of government.

Mr Milone has extensive experience in the field – he worked for the auditing firm Deloitte for more than 30 years.

The alleged hacking attempt comes amid an increasingly febrile atmosphere within the Vatican.

A recent story claiming that the Pope was suffering from a brain tumour was strenuously denounced as false by the Vatican and seen as an attempt to discredit and undermine him.

Senior figures suggested that the unfounded story was an attempt by “enemies” of the 78-year-old pope to insinuate that his judgment was impaired.

Victor Manuel Fernandez, a bishop from the Pope’s native Argentina, called the attempt to spread the rumour “the strategy of the Apocalypse”.

The hacking scandal comes days before the publication of two new books which are expected to lift the lid further on intrigue and skulduggery within the Vatican, especially regarding its finances, which in the past have been hit by allegations of corruption and money laundering.

The books are based in part on documents leaked to journalists by shadowy Vatican insiders.

The Vatican has been badly damaged by leaks in the past – in the so-called “Vatileaks” scandal, the personal butler to Pope Benedict XVI secretly handed papal documents to Gianluigi Nuzzi, an Italian journalist.

The sense of betrayal felt by the ageing German pope is believed to have contributed, in part, to his historic resignation, paving the way for the election of Pope Francis in March 2013.

Mr Nuzzi is the author of one of the books to be published, entitled Merchants in the Temple, which is expected to disclose new revelations about why Benedict resigned and to examine waste in the Vatican’s pension system and its charitable donations.

The second book is by Emiliano Fittipaldi, another journalist, and is called Avarice: Documents Revealing Wealth, Scandals and Secrets of Francis' Church.

Mr Fittipaldi writes for L'Espresso, a weekly news magazine that has published some of the most damaging leaks of Francis' papacy.

Both books are due to be published on Nov 5 and are likely to reveal fresh details of the trenchant opposition that Pope Francis has faced as he tries to reform the Vatican.