In the summer of 1971, no question before the U.S. Supreme Court was as contentious as the Pentagon Papers case, in which the Nixon administration sought to prevent the New York Times and the Washington Post from publishing a classified report on the Vietnam War. In a 6-3 decision, the court eventually upheld the right … Read more
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
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
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
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
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 Angelo Becciu said Sunday that he has been invited to attend an upcoming consistory for the College of Cardinals, claiming that Pope Francis told him his rights and privileges as a cardinal will be reinstated. If this is true, the pope’s decision is a dramatic reversal of fortune for Becciu, who is currently on … Read more
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
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
The technology company to which Cardinal Angelo Becciu authorized millions of dollars of payments in Australia has been named in an emerging U.S. political scandal, raising new questions about the Vatican’s business with the firm. Neustar, a technology and security company, has been named in pretrial motions filed by John Durham, the special counsel investigating … Read more