VATICAN CITY
Los Angeles Times
Tom Kington
A Spanish priest and an Italian laywoman hired as economic advisors by Pope Francis have been arrested by the Vatican on suspicion of leaking secret documents, days ahead of the publication of two books that promise to lift the lid on financial scandals at the Holy See.
Father Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, 54, the No. 2 at the Vatican’s Prefecture for Economic Affairs, and Francesca Chaouqui, a controversial 33-year-old public relations consultant, were arrested by Vatican police at the weekend, the Holy See said Monday. The arrests followed a months-long probe into the theft and leaking of private documents.
Both were appointed in 2013 by Francis to a short-lived commission advising on economic reform at the Vatican.
In a statement, the Vatican said that the alleged crimes were covered by a 2013 church law passed to crack down on leaks. Violation of the law could carry a prison term of as many as eight years.
The alleged thefts were one of the most serious scandals to hit the Vatican since 2012, when former Pope Benedict’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, was jailed for leaking private correspondence addressed to Benedict that discussed alleged corruption within the Vatican.
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The letters leaked by the butler, which some believe prompted Benedict’s resignation, were published by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, who will this week publish a follow-up, “Merchants in the Temple,” which is expected to detail skulduggery in the Vatican’s finances.
A second book by Italian journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi, also due out, promises to reveal luxurious living and overspending at the Vatican.
The Vatican did not directly link the arrests to the books, but referred to them in its statement, saying that “once again, as in the past, [the books] are the fruit of a serious betrayal of the pope’s trust.”
The two authors risked prosecution by the Vatican, added the statement, saying that “international cooperation” was not excluded, suggesting the Vatican could seek the help of Italian magistrates. The Vatican is an independent state with its own police force and judiciary.
“Publications of this kind do not contribute in any way to establish clarity and truth, but rather to create confusion, and partial and tendentious interpretations,” the Vatican said. “We must absolutely avoid the mistake of thinking that this is a way to help the mission of the pope.”
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