VATICAN CITY
Catholic News Service
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Vatican spokesman denied a German newspaper report that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, retired Vatican secretary of state, was under criminal investigation for misappropriating funds from the so-called Vatican bank.
“No investigation of a criminal nature is being conducted by the Vatican magistrate involving Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,” said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, in a statement issued late May 20.
The German newspaper Bild had published a report the day before claiming an investigation had been launched into a 15-million-euro (about $20.5 million) loss resulting from an arrangement with Lux Vide, an Italian producer of television programs and films, mostly of a religious nature.
At the time the arrangement was made, Cardinal Bertone was president of the cardinals’ commission overseeing the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly called the Vatican bank. In mid-January, Pope Francis replaced Cardinal Bertone and another three of the five cardinals on the commission.
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