VATICAN CITY
Washington Post
By Anthony Faiola and Stefano Pitrelli November 3
The Vatican faced fresh accusations of mismanagement, excess and resistance to change as details from two new books emerged Tuesday, a day after the Holy See announced the arrest of two insiders on suspicion of leaking internal information.
The allegations in the books suggest a mix of formidable forces confront Pope Francis as he seeks to reform a Vatican bureaucracy long shrouded in secrecy and charged for years with being inefficient and lacking in transparency.
The Washington Post obtained an early copy of “Avarice: Documents Revealing Wealth, Scandals and Secrets of Francis’ Church” by Italian journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi of L’Espresso, which delves into the details of suspect accounts in the Vatican Bank, big spending by cardinals and the alleged diversion of funds earmarked for hospitals.
In one incident, Fittipaldi outlines a 23,800 euro ($26,400) helicopter ride in 2012 by former Vatican secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone who was pushed aside by Francis. He also documents how a religious foundation paid to refurbish Bertone’s home.
He also cites continuing problems at the Vatican bank, which became the subject of a massive clean up effort that started under Benedict XVI and kicked into high gear under Francis.
“The Vatican Bank hasn’t been cleaned up like we thought,” Fittipaldi, a journalist at L’Espresso, said in an interview with The Washington Post. The Italian magazine he works for has been responsible for some of the biggest leaks on the Vatican this year, including an early draft of a papal encyclical on the environment in June. ”There are [bank accounts] of Italian entrepreneurs under investigation by Italian authorities still hiding inside.”
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