Vatican Prosecutor Seeks 7 Years in Jail for Cardinal, Confiscation of $460 Million from 10 Defendants

The Vatican prosecutor asked a court Wednesday to convict 10 people, including a cardinal, of a range of financial crimes, sentence them to three to 13 years in prison and order the confiscation of some 415 million euros ($460 million) to pay the Holy See back for bad investments and financial losses over the past … Read more

Pope’s Role in Financial Scandal Again Takes Center Stage

Pope Francis’ own role in the investigation into financial wrongdoing at the Holy See took center stage Friday in the Vatican tribunal, with witnesses saying he encouraged a key suspect to cooperate with prosecutors and a key defendant accusing him of interfering in the trial. Friday’s hearing was one of the most eagerly anticipated in … Read more

Cardinal Becciu: ‘Francis Wants Me Dead!’

I recently commented on what I found to be some oddities and incongruities in the case of Cardinal Becciu, particularly the behavior and actions of Pope Francis toward Becciu (see What does Cardinal Becciu know about Francis?).  As I note in part in the conclusion of that article: …the actions of Pope Francis toward Cardinal … Read more

Vatican’s Star Witness Testimony in ‘Trial of the Century’ May Just Have Backfired on Pope Francis

Just when you think that the Vatican’s “trial of the century” against a cardinal and nine other defendants for various alleged financial crimes can’t get any more surreal, two developments pop out of the woodwork to prove you wrong. A hearing Thursday produced both a previously unknown, and unauthorized, recording of a phone call with … Read more

Did Pope Francis Protect His Graft-Ridden Cardinals?

A fired Vatican auditor and his deputy are suing the Holy See for $9.25 million, “alleging they were sacked after discovering financial irregularities,” according to an account by Reuters this week. The auditor, Libero Milone, says that Pope Francis signed off on his firing in 2017 after he exposed graft-ridden Vatican officials. Pope Francis appointed … Read more

WATCH: Former Vatican Auditor General Sues Holy See For Nearly $10 Million, Threatens To Reveal Financial Corruption

  The former Auditor General for the Vatican has taken the Secretariat of State to court for nearly $10 million in damages due to his forced resignation in 2017, and threatened to reveal evidence of the financial and moral corruption within the Holy See that his audit had uncovered. Libero Milone, former chairman and CEO … Read more

Cardinal Becciu Testifies That Pope Francis Was Responsible for Vatican Auditor’s Ousting

Cardinal Angelo Becciu said Wednesday that he is blameless in the forced resignation of a Vatican auditor, because it came at Pope Francis’ request. Cardinal Becciu was said to be responsible for the sudden firing in 2017 of the Vatican’s first auditor general, Libero Milone, as well as the cancelation of an internal audit. But … Read more

Further Inconsistencies in the Pell-Becciu Affair

In a story that has more red-herrings than a Poirot novel, the drawn-out saga of Cardinal Becciu’s alleged financial improprieties and their possible influence on the case against Cardinal George Pell recently took another turn. On April 9th, an Italian news outlet stated that new evidence explains the real reason for secret transfers of over … Read more