Vatican probes ex-managers over apartment refit

VATICAN CITY
Deutsche Welle

The Vatican has begun a probe against two ex-managers accused of diverting funds from a children’s hospital to renovate a Rome penthouse. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone’s lawyer says he never asked for the luxury refit.

The Italian magazine L’Espresso’s report that a church probe was proceeding against the two former hospital managers was confirmed in part on Thursday by Vatican deputy spokesman Greg Burke.

Without elaborating, Burke said former chairman Giuseppe Profiti and former treasurer Massimo Spino were “under investigation.”

L’Espresso said the renovations had cost 422,000 euros ($480,000), rather than the 200,000 reported previously.

Burke did not confirmed the magazine’s specific claim that the ex-managers of the Vatican-owned clinic, Ospedale Bambino Gesu (Baby Jesus in Italian), were suspected of embezzling and misusing funds.

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