INTERVIEW Vatican journalist feels vindicated by cardinal's refunding hospital By Alvise Armellini, dpa

Europe Online
December 19, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/hu2r5c8

Italian journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi speaks to dpa after his Vatican scandal revelations prompt a top cardinal to return 150,000 euros for misusing funds intended for a children‘s hospital.

Vatican City (dpa) - Emiliano Fittipaldi revealed last month how former top cardinal Tarcisio Bertone used a 200,000-euro (217,000-dollar) grant from a Vatican children‘s hospital to renovate his retirement penthouse.

The Italian journalist, who is facing a Vatican criminal trial for publishing a book on the Bertone affair and other financial shenanigans, spoke to dpa after it was announced that the cardinal would return 150,000 euros.

dpa: What do you think about this development?

Fittipaldi: It proves that even in Italy investigative journalism, reporting on real and verified information, can make a difference. Now I hope that was what wrongly taken away from the hospital will be invested in the right way, namely on medical research.

I also hope this will only be the starting point. My book also talks about the hospital‘s secret bank accounts worth 500,000 euros at the IOR [Vatican bank] and at [the Vatican central bank] APSA, invested on multinationals like PepsiCo. This has nothing to do with its mission.

dpa: So do you think justice is being done?

Fittipaldi: The fact remains that I am still on trial over a story that has been proven true, rather than the cardinal or the people who authorized this outrageous operation, which was economically, financially and, above all, ethically unbelievable.

I also want to stress I found this out through my own investigations, not through stolen papers, it was not on any of the leaked documents, so the Vatican cannot even claim it was aware of it. If my book had not come out, this money would have probably never been returned.

dpa: Cardinal Bertone has said he did not know anything about these donations - do you believe that?

Fittipaldi: I find it very difficult to believe. The president of the hospital foundation was a close friend of his, as was the owner of the firm who carried out the renovation works.

dpa: Are you surprised that the cardinal can afford to return 150,000 euros?

Fittipaldi: Very much so. The fact that he has so much money at his disposal is an indication that Pope Francis‘ ambition to turn the princes of the church into servants of the humble is very far from being fulfilled.