False
Churches, False Brethren, False Gospels
Vatican Spin Doctors reject prelate's corruption allegations
VATICAN CITY — The administration of the Vatican City State on
Saturday categorically rejected as groundless a top prelate's
accusations of corruption in the Holy See's awarding of contracts.
Last month, an Italian investigative news program reported that
the prelate had unsuccessfully requested not to be transferred to
Washington by Pope Benedict XVI after exposing alleged corruption
that cost the Holy See millions of euros in terms of higher
contract prices.
Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano was the No. 2 administrator until
the pope selected him to be his envoy to the U.S. last fall.
While the Vatican had previously defended Vigano's transfer to the
prestigious post as proof of Benedict's "unquestionable respect
and trust" in him, the written statement Saturday by the Vatican's
governorship was the Holy See's first response to the corruption
allegations themselves.
The Vatican's administration oversees outlays for contracts and
financial investments. It administers everything from maintaining
the pope's gardens to running the lucrative Vatican Museums.
In denying Vigano's allegations, it said said his assertions were
the "fruit of erroneous evaluations or based on unproven fears."
It contended that a careful examination had determined that the
"suspicions and allegations" were "completely unfounded."
Vigano, in letters to the pope and to the Vatican's secretary of
state, claimed to have exposed abuse of office in the running of
the Holy See's administration, according to the TV program "The
Untouchables." Vigano allegedly also claimed to have corrected the
abuses during his two years as secretary-general of the city
state.
The Vatican statement called the revelation of the letters a
"source of great bitterness," but said it didn't want to go into
details of Vigano's assertions.
The governorship countered that its investments had suffered
"significant losses" due to the global financial crisis losses of
2008, and that Vatican bookkeeping rules dictated that some of
those losses be carried over to 2009's books.
It boasted that Vatican's finances bounced back in 2010, mainly
because of the management of the governorship's investments and
excellent revenues from the Museums.
In its rebuttal, the Vatican insisted that major contracts are put
up for bid, and that lesser projects are assigned either to its
own personnel or that of qualified outside firms in accordance to
the going rates in Italy.
Vigano had denounced the workings of an unofficial group of
Italian bankers appointed after the global financial crisis to try
to bolster the Vatican's finances.
The TV show was hosted by Gianluigi Nuzzi, author of "Vatican
SpA," a 2009 volume laying out shady dealings of the Vatican bank
based on leaked documents.
Among those signing the statement were the governorship's former
head, Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, and Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello,
a prelate who now heads the office and who will be raised to
cardinal's rank in a ceremony led by Benedict later this month.