VATICAN CITY
The Local
L’Espresso, the Italian weekly, alleges that Monsignor Battista Ricca, who was recently appointed to a key position at the bank, had gay relationships during his time at the Vatican embassy, or nunciature, of Montevideo in Uruguay.
The scandal was recently brought to the attention of Pope Francis, who will soon “make decisions” about what to do next, L.Espresso reported.
Ricca, who was formerly of the diocese of Brescia in northern Italy, is alleged to have had an affair with a Swiss army captain named Patrick Haari in 1999 after Haari secured a job at the nunciature.
Priests and nuns there reportedly appealed to the Vatican to have Haari removed, but were unsuccessful.
In 2001, Ricca was also reported to have been caught more than once in homosexual encounters, the magazine claimed. He was beaten up after one such encounter and had to call on the help of fellow priests, the magazine said.
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