UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Thomas Reese | Jul. 14, 2016
Although the court’s final decision was at least half right, the “VatiLeaks” case was a terrible mistake from the very beginning. It made the Vatican look vindictive and foolish. It was an embarrassment to the Vatican and the church.
The story starts back in November 2015 with the publication of Avarice by Emiliano Fittipaldi and Merchants in the Temple by Gianluigi Nuzzi, which were based on Vatican documents leaked to the Italian journalists. They were charged with violating Vatican law by soliciting the documents and pressuring Vatican officials to give them secret documents.
“Stealing documents is a crime,” Pope Francis said after the books were published. “It is a deplorable act that does not help.”
A new law had been approved by Francis that made taking, distributing, and publishing secret Vatican documents a crime in the Vatican City State. This law was in response to earlier leaks by the pope’s butler and others during the papacy of Benedict XVI.
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