VATICAN CITY
The Guardian (UK)
Stephanie Kirchgaessner in Rome
Wednesday 4 November 2015
The Vatican acknowledged on Wednesday that a series of explosive allegations at the heart of two new exposés into the inner workings of Vatican finances had to be “studied and interpreted with care” but insisted that Pope Francis was already well aware of the problems.
The Holy See also confirmed it was investigating an Italian banker who may have been involved in questionable transactions involving the Vatican office that handles its vast real estate holdings.
In an effort to address looming questions about church finances, it also released a separate statement saying that a new board of directors heading a foundation connected to Bambino Gesù, a paediatric hospital in Rome, had held its first meeting on Wednesday.
The hospital was at the centre of several allegations in the two books published this week, Merchants in the Temple by Gianluigi Nuzzi and Avarice by Emiliano Fittipaldi. The Vatican said the new board was committed to transparency and had “turned a page” on its past.
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