Vatileaks 2.0

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Vatileaks 2.0 describes the scandal of financial machinations in the Vatican State , which the journalists Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi made public in two book publications in 2015. The two books were based primarily on secret documents from the auditing commission COSEA set up by Pope Francis . At the beginning of November 2015, the former COSEA member and prelate Lucio Ángel Vallejo Balda was arrested and subsequently a trial against him, against the two journalists, against the only female COSEA member, Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui , and against the COSEA Employee Nicola Maio. The allegation is among other things "dissemination of confidential information and documents".

Concept formation, context

Federico Lombardi, Head of the Vatican Press Office

The term Vatileaks was coined by the press spokesman of the Vatican , Federico Lombardi , based on Wikileaks and encompassed processes that describe the manner in which confidential documents are made public , which in 2011 and 2012 from the desk of the then Pope Benedict XVI. came to the public from the Vatican.

In June 2013, a new offense was added to the Vatican State's criminal code, Article 116 bis, which criminalizes the dissemination of confidential information and documents.

On June 18, 2015, Pope Francis 'second encyclical was presented simultaneously in eight languages: “ Laudato si' ” (German: “ Praise be to you ”), with the subtitle on care for the common home . The work deals with environmental and climate protection , the existing social injustices and the exhaustion of natural resources. Laudato si ' was seen by its author as an “urgent appeal to discuss the future of the planet”, and it was received as such by the world.

On October 3, 2015, the first outing of a renowned theologian of the Vatican, Krzysztof Charamsa , who was active in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1997 and taught at two papal universities, took place. He criticized sexual morality as "inhuman". Everyone has a right to love, and this right must be protected by society and the law. "But above all it must protect the church: Christianity is the religion of love." This confession of honesty represented a massive attack on the concept of secrecy in the Roman Curia , in which homosexuality was always accepted as long as it was not public have been done.

The so-called family synod on the vocation and mission of the family in today's church and world met from October 4 to 25, 2015 , as a follow-up event to the third extraordinary Synod of Bishops from October 5 to 19, 2014. There was fierce controversy between traditionalists and reformers as well as to a warning letter from 13 conservative cardinals to the Pope, which promptly found its way into the public. In view of this, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller spoke of “a new Vatileaks” at the beginning of the family synod.

Auditing Commission COSEA

"In the past hundred years, no Pope has dealt so intensively with financial and economic questions of the Vatican." Immediately after taking office, Pope Francis took the following steps:

  • He appointed a panel of eight cardinals as personal advisers in reforming the Roman Curia and in governing the Church.
  • He set up a Pontifical Commission for the Reform of the Vatican Bank Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR).
  • He appointed Monsignor Battista Mario Salvatore Ricca , director of the Vatican guest house Domus Sanctae Marthae , as house prelate of the Vatican Bank IOR with the right to inspect all files and to attend all meetings of the bank.

On July 18, 2013, Pope Francis finally set up a new Pontifical Commission for the Reform of Economic and Financial Affairs of the Holy See with a chirographer ( Italian Commissione di studio sulle strutture economiche e amministrative della Santa Sede ). Seven lay Catholics and a Spanish prelate were appointed to serve in the Roman Curia :

 

The commission should, as it were, take an inventory of the Vatican and develop proposals for improvements, greater efficiency and savings. The Pope's instruction said that the Commission should have access “to all documents, data and information” of the Vatican Bank Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR), all balance sheets, every authority and body of the Vatican and the movable and immovable property of the saint Chair worldwide. Official secrecy was lifted for the investigation. Immediately after the commission was appointed, the Catholic Internet platform warned that this inside information was worth "pure gold", that the seven external commissioners knew more than anyone in the Vatican and also expressed doubts about the suitability of the appointees. Just eight days after Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui's order was placed, the platform referred to its relationship with the investigation journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi and the investigation platform Dagospia , founded by Roberto D'Agostino .

Two book publications

At the same time, on November 5, 2015, the books Avarizia by Fittipaldi and Via Crucis by Nuzzi were published; they contain a series of financial grievances within the Vatican State and its institutions.

Avarizia

Via crucis

Jörg Bremer criticized the book Nuzzis in the FAZ as "old wine in a new hose". He sketched Cardinal George Pell - “probably out of gratitude for his services” as Nuzzi's informant - as a reformer, while Fittipaldi characterized the same cardinal as a “blocker” of Pope Francis' reform efforts.

Summary of grievances

Among other things, according to Kathpress and other reviewers, the following allegations were published, which were directed in particular against the cardinals of the Roman Curia :

  • The Vatican Economic Secretariat has spent "hundreds of thousands of euros on business class flights, tailor-made clothing, valuable furniture and 4,600 euros for the base of a washbasin".
  • The Vatican sold a total of 27 million liters of gasoline in 2012, 18 percent of which to "strangers".
  • Funds intended for charitable purposes had been misappropriated by the Roman Curia. The Peter's Pence go to 80 per cent in the administration, reason is "the disastrous financial situation of the Curia."
  • The auditing commission COSEA uncovered favoritism, excessive increases in staff numbers, a lack of transparency in expenditure and processes, inadequate controls on supplier contracts, inefficiency and privileges in the management of Vatican real estate, inadequate supervision and excessive risks in the Vatican's capital investments.
  • There is questionable revenue from beatifications and canonizations.
  • COSEA was exposed to massive obstacles on the part of the curia during the investigations.
  • Part of this money is spent on “luxury apartments in the heart of the Eternal City”: “Curia cardinals live in almost princely dwellings with 400, 500, sometimes 600 square meters of floor space. And alone, at best with two or three missionary sisters, preferably from developing countries, who run their household, cook, clean or act as auxiliary staff for them. ”The cardinals lived for free, paid neither rent nor ancillary costs.
  • An inventory of food, clothing and medicines in the Vatican would have missed goods worth 1.6 million euros.
  • COSEA also found excessive spending on construction and craft work as well as evidence of tax evasion against Italy.
  • Cardinals and their staff also received discounts and perks on food, cigarettes, clothing and sports.

The Pope was expressly excluded from the criticism, he still lives in a nearly 50 square meter room in the Santa Marta guest house .

Arrests and interrogations

On November 2, 2015, Il Corriere della Sera reported the arrest of the former Secretary of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, the Spanish prelate Lucio Ángel Vallejo Balda , and his protégée, the Italian PR consultant Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui .

The trial in the Vatican

Based on the 2013 first implemented Criminal paragraphs Articles 116 to started on 24 November 2015 the Court of Vatican City State, the trial against Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui , Emiliano Fittipaldi , Nicola Maio, Gianluigi Nuzzi and against Monsignor Lucio Ángel Vallejo Balda .

Composition of the Tribunal

The judges' panel consists of three judges: Giuseppe Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto (Presidente del Collegio), Piero Antonio Bonnet and Paolo Papanti-Pelletier. Venerando Marano acts as substitute judge. - Gian Pietro Milano (Promotore di Giudizia) is representing the prosecution .

Charges

All five defendants must answer for the embezzlement and dissemination of confidential documents according to §§ 63 and 116-bis of the Vatican criminal law . The defendants Chaouqui, Maio and Vallejo Balsa were also charged with the offense of forming a criminal organization under Section 248, a paragraph that was revised due to the Vatileaks 1.0 affair , although in the affair at that time there was only one perpetrator - Paolo Gabriele , majordomus of the then Pope - was charged and convicted.

Schedule

The fact that the trial was arranged quickly resulted in speculation in the press that the Vatican wanted to end the unpleasant cause with a quick trial before December 8, 2015. On this date, the extraordinary Holy Year proclaimed by Pope Francis begins - as the Jubilee of Mercy on the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council . The first two court dates already refuted the impression of a fast-track procedure:

  • The trial started on Tuesday, November 24, 2015 at 10:30 a.m.
  • November 28, 2015 was set as the deadline for submitting the defense documents.
  • In the diary of November 30, 2015, the defendant Chaouqui requested the release of her public defender Agnese Camilli and the appointment of her defense lawyer Laura Sgrò . As a result, the proceedings were postponed to December 7, 2015 after the judges' senate had deliberated for 10 minutes, in order to give the new lawyer time to familiarize herself with the file.
  • On December 7, 2015, the Court granted Chaouquis approval to two applications: first, the summons of Pietro Parolin , Secretary of State of the Vatican, and Santos Abril y Castelló , President of the Cardinals Commission for the Supervision of the Vatican Bank. Second, the appointment of an expert to analyze electronic communications such as email, SMS and WhatsApp between Chaouqui and Vallejo Balda. Two other requests were denied: Chaouqui's request for incompetence of the court (because the facts alleged to have taken place in Italy) and Vallejo Balsa's request for a psychiatric examination. The proceedings were adjourned indefinitely.

Mud fight between two defendants

After the trial opened, there was a media battle between the defendants Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui and Lucio Ángel Vallejo Balda . He allegedly confessed to an affair with her during the Vatican interrogation, which she vigorously denied and accused him of not being interested in women. Even serious media stylized Chaouqui as “Mata Hari of the Papal States ”, Lady Curia and “Papessa”, reporting on alleged attempts to blackmail the brothers Paolo Berlusconi and Silvio Berlusconi . The interrogation protocols were leaked to the daily la Repubblica and were first published by it.

Verdict

On July 7, 2016, the Chamber sentenced Chaouqui to ten months 'imprisonment and Balda to 18 months' imprisonment; the other three defendants were acquitted. The public prosecutor's office had also pleaded for Fittipaldi's acquittal and requested prison sentences for the other four defendants.

Criticism of the Pope, admission of the Pope

The longtime Vaticanist Sandro Magister , whose accreditation had been withdrawn in June 2015, criticized the court proceedings, which "shine neither through repentance, prudence nor mercy". He continues: It does not shine through repentance, since the Pope himself had appointed the two main defendants to the commission, "although the State Secretariat had warned of the unreliability of both of them". It does not shine through cleverness, because the indictment against the two journalists and book authors is "a bizarre new edition of an index of forbidden books". And it shines even less through mercy, since the red light episodes that were leaked to the media from the investigation files not only put the prelate and the PR lady in the pillory - both are "already hyperactive [...] themselves." harming each other ”- but also Chaouqui's family members who have nothing to do with the matter.

On his return trip from Africa, Pope Francis was questioned by journalists about the appointment of Chaouqui and Vallejo Banda, among other things. He replied unequivocally, “I think that was a mistake.” He referred to his efforts “to fight corruption and the things that don't work”. And he recalled the words of his predecessor: “Thirteen days before the death of John Paul II , during the Via Crucis, Cardinal Ratzinger spoke of the filth in the church. He was the first to charge that. Then John Paul died, and Ratzinger, who was dean, spoke about the same thing in the Missa Pro eligendo Pontifice . We chose him because of this freedom to speak things out. ”He ended his remarks with a bon mot:“ I thank God that Lucrezia Borgia no longer exists! ”

A number of media then showed the Pope at confession in St. Peter's Basilica. However, the recordings were from Holy Week 2014.

literature

Web links

  • Yvonne Staat: Once accepted ... Frankfurter Allgemeine, June 16, 2012, accessed on November 7, 2012 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ COSEA is the abbreviation of: “ Commissione di studio sulle strutture economiche e amministrative della Santa Sede ” (German: “Commission for the review of the economic and administrative structures of the Vatican”).
  2. ^ "Vatileaks 2.0": Rome apparently investigates against clergy . ORF .at, November 1, 2015.
  3. ↑ Nuzzi, Chaouqui, Vatileaks 2.0 and a papal “Way of the Cross”? Katholisches.Info, November 3, 2015
  4. ↑ Paul Kreiner: His Holiness unfaithful valet. Der Tagesspiegel , May 30, 2012, accessed on September 26, 2012 .
  5. ↑ Law of the State of Vatican City No. IX of July 11, 2013 (PDF; Italian), which contains changes to the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.
  6. ^ The environmental cyclical Laudatio si by Pope Francis: Ecological reversal. ( Memento from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) In: Website of the Catholic Church of Carinthia, June 19, 2015.
  7. ^ Priest Charamsa: Outing and removal of a Vatican theologian - derstandard.at/2000023196016/Priester-Charamsa-Outing-und-Entstieg-eines-Vatikan-Theologen. In: Der Standard , October 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ And one more commission - Pope Francis appoints a commission to reform economic affairs . Katholisches.info, July 19, 2013
  9. ^ Vatican State : Chirografo del Santo Padre Francesco , July 18, 2013
  10. ↑ Francesca Chaouqui: busy, lobbyist, Nuzzi admirer, new papal commissioner . Katholisches.info, July 26, 2015
  11. ↑ Jörg Bremer : Everything out of control? . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , November 24, 2015
  12. ↑ Ecco i corvi: due Arresti in Vaticano / Il monsignore e la sua pierre protetta. In: Corriere della Sera (Italian), November 2, 2015.
  13. ↑ Oliver Meiler: Vatican City - Unwanted Information. Süddeutsche Zeitung , November 24, 2015, accessed on November 24, 2015 .
  14. ^ Vatileaks 2, ecco come funziona in processo in Vaticano. In: Famiglia Cristiana (Italian), November 23, 2015.
  15. ↑ 'VatiLeaks' trial rescheduled for Dec. 7. In: The Catholic Register , November 30, 2015.
  16. ^ Parolin to be Vatileaks 2 witness . Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata , December 7, 2015
  17. ↑ The Mata Hari of the Papal States. In: Der Standard , December 2, 2015.
  18. ↑ Vatican leaks trial engulfed by bizarre sex, Silvio Berlusconi blackmail and secret services claims. In: International Business Times , December 1, 2015.
  19. ↑ Vatileaks, la rete di potere della papessa Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui. In: L'Espresso (Italian), December 4, 2015.
  20. ^ Vatileaks trial: priest sentenced to 18 months in prison. Spiegel Online, July 7, 2016, accessed on the same day.
  21. ^ Rosie Scammell: Vatileaks journalists cleared as PR consultant and priest found guilty. In: theguardian.com. July 7, 2016, accessed September 14, 2016 .
  22. ↑ Mercy to all except the hierarchical church? - Pope Francis and the jubilee year . Katholisches.info, December 4, 2015
  23. ↑ "That was a mistake" - Pope Francis on Vatileaks 2 and the appointment of Vallejo Balda and Chaoqui . Katholisches.info, December 1, 2015