ROME
The Independent (UK)
Pope Francis ‘furious’ at senior Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone’s plan to ‘retire in four-storey penthouse’
Pope Francis is reportedly furious that a former senior Catholic Church’s plans to retire in a palatial penthouse apartment overlooking Rome.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was appointed secretary of state – one of the most senior positions in the Church – by Pope Benedict Benedict XVI in 2006, and retired last October.
Claims that Bertone planned to create a lavish home emerged in April, and came to a head in late May when Italian gossip magazine, Chi, published a photo of the renovation atop the Palazzo San Carlo building in the Italian city.
Scaffolding reportedly towers four storeys around the entire penthouse complex, where Bertone will allegedly share the apartment with three nuns who will deal with domestic tasks.
The refurbishment involved merging two existing flats: one of between 300 and 400 sq metres previously assigned to the head of the Vatican gendarmerie, and another of around 200 sq metres belonging to a deceased prelate, according to newspaper La Repubblica.
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