VATICAN CITY
Washington Post
ANALYSIS: Pope Francis confronts his first scandal in Vatican Bank mess
By Alessandro Speciale| Religion News Service,
VATICAN CITY — Just two days after creating a commission to review the activities of the scandal-plagued Vatican Bank, Pope Francis is confronting the first major crisis of his papacy — starring once again an unscrupulous prelate and large amounts of cash of unclear origin.
On Friday (June 28), Italian police arrested the Rev. Nunzio Scarano, a senior prelate working in the Vatican treasury, officially known as the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.
Scarano stands accused of trying to smuggle some 20 million euros from Switzerland to Italy on behalf of a financier. According to prosecutors, Scarano and his associates concocted a plan that seems to come straight out of a spy movie, involving a rented plane and help from contacts within the Italian secret service.
While it is not clear whom the money belonged to, the investigation stemmed from prosecutors’ years-long probe into alleged money laundering at the Vatican Bank.
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