VATICAN CITY
Reuters
ROME | BY GAVIN JONES
The Vatican on Saturday ordered five people, including two Italian journalists, to stand trial for leaking and publishing secret documents, in the latest development in a leaks scandal which is rocking the papacy.
The trial stems from the publication of two recent books which depict a Vatican plagued by mismanagement, greed and corruption and where Pope Francis faces stiff resistance from the old guard to his reform agenda.
The Holy See was embarrassed and angered by the books, which it said used information that should never have been allowed to leave the walls of the city state.
Prosecutors said three Vatican officials, including a high-ranking priest, formed “an organised criminal association” with the aim of “divulging information and documents concerning the fundamental interests of the Holy See and the State”.
The first hearing in the trial will begin on Tuesday at 0930 GMT, the president of the Vatican court ordered.
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