43 Winfield, “22 Cardinals Join Club to Elect Pope’s Succcessor.”
44 Pope Benedict quoted in Ingrid D. Rowland, “The Fall of the Vice-Pope,” The New York Review of Books, June 16, 2014.
45 Winfield, “22 Cardinals Join Club to Elect Pope’s Succcessor.”
Chapter 39: A Vote of No Confidence
1 Philip Pullella, “U.S. Adds Vatican to Money-Laundering ‘Concern’ List,” Reuters, March 8, 2012; Nick Squires, “Vatican Bank Faces Fresh Controversy,” London Telegraph, March 19, 2012.
2 Phillip Pullella and Lisa Jucca, “Vatican Bank Image Hurt as JP Morgan Closes Account,” Reuters, March 19, 2012; “Vaticano, dai dossier di Gotti Tedeschi spunta il giallo di JP Morgan Vaticano, dai dossier di Gotti Tedeschi spunta il giallo di JP Morgan,” Il Messaggero, June 10, 2012.
3 Rachel Sanderson, “The Scandal at the Vatican Bank,” The Financial Times Magazine, December 6, 2013.
4 Andrea Tornielli, “The Vatican and Transparency: Moneyval’s Objections,” “Vatican Insider,” La Stampa, May 8, 2012. See Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL), June 2, 2014.
5 Author interview with former associate at the IOR, identity withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013.
6 Tornielli, “The Vatican and Transparency”; Andreas Wassermann and Peter Wensierski, “Transparency vs. Money Laundering: Catholic Church Fears Growing Vatican Bank Scandal,” Der Spiegel, July 2, 2012.
7 Author interview with former associate at the IOR, identity withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013.
8 Nick Pisa, “Prosecutors Investigate Vatican Bank Mafia Link,” The Telegraph, June 10, 2012.
9 Ibid.
10 The bishop, Francesco Micciché, was removed for “alienation of property,” a violation of canon law in which a prelate’s conduct puts the financial health of a diocese at risk. See John L. Allen Jr., “Hard Lesson for the Vatican: Firing a Bishop Doesn’t End the Story,” National Catholic Reporter, June 15, 2012; see also “Mafia Vatican Funds ‘Explosive,’ ” The Australian, June 18, 2012.
11 Gianluigi Nuzzi, Sua Santità: Le carte segrete di Benedetto XVI (Milan: Chairelettere Editorie, 2012); see also Nuzzi, Ratzinger Was Afraid, 27.
12 A few journalists were hesitant to accept as true everything leaked to Nuzzi. “First, this caution: The mere fact that a document exists does not automatically make its content credible. Some official documents, even if they’re stamped ‘top secret,’ do little more than record gossip, spin or self-serving opinion,” in John L. Allen, Jr., “Pondering the ‘What,’ Not the ‘Who,’ of Vatileaks,” National Catholic Reporter, June 1, 2012.
13 Nuzzi, Ratzinger Was Afraid, 85–86.
14 Ibid., 116–120.
15 Although Boffo had been accused in 2002 of sexual harassment, the part of the accusation that was false was that he was gay and it was known to the police. The document with that conclusion, that purported to be from the prosecutor’s office, was a forgery. Ibid., 33–35. See also Barbie Latza Nadeau, “VatiLeaks Exposes Internal Memos of the Catholic Church,” The Daily Beast, May 24, 2012; Nadeau writes that the false “allegations [were] that Boffo had harassed the wife of his gay lover.” In under a year, Boffo got a new job as an editor at Tv2000, the official bishop’s television channel.
16 Some generic published reports after Gotti Tedeschi was subsequently fired from the IOR said he had compiled a folder he was anxious to show the Pope, but no specifics were provided. See Nick Squires, “Ex-Head of Vatican Bank ‘Planned to Give Dossier to Pope,’ ” The Telegraph, June 8, 2012.
17 John L. Allen, Jr., “Hard Lesson for the Vatican: Firing a Bishop Doesn’t End the Story,” National Catholic Reporter. Also, author interview with former associate at the IOR and with former Papal advisor/assistant, identity withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013.
18 Pisa, “Prosecutors Investigate Vatican Bank Mafia Link.”
19 John L. Allen, Jr., “Hard Lesson for the Vatican: Firing a Bishop Doesn’t End the Story,” National Catholic Reporter. Also, author interview with former associate at the IOR and with former Papal advisor/assistant, identity withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013.
20 Author interview with former associate at the IOR, September 2013.
21 Ibid., and with former Papal advisor/assistant, identity withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013.
22 “IOR, il memoriale di Gotti Tedeschi. Ecco chi non voleva la norma antiriciclaggio,” Il Fatto Quotidiano, June 12, 2012, 1.
23 Author interview with former associate at the IOR and with former Papal advisor/assistant, identity withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013. Requests to interview Monsignor Gänswein were submitted through press secretary, Father Federico Lombardi, and went unanswered.
24 Nicole Winfield, “Intrigue Mounts over Ouster of Vatican Bank Chief,” Associated Press, Vatican City, June 9, 2012.
25 John Hooper, “Vatican Bank’s Former President Accused of Negligence,” The Guardian, June 10, 2012.
26 Andrea Gagliarducci, “I.O.R., Is Something Going to Change?,” Monday Vatican, June 6, 2011.
27 Philip Pullella and Silvia Aloisi, “Insight: Vatican Bank—Money, Mystery and Monsignors.”
28 Author interview with former associate at the IOR, identity withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013 see also Pullella and Silvia Aloisi, “Insight: Vatican Bank—Money, Mystery and Monsignors.”
29 Marco Bardazzi, “No Transparency. That’s Why We Fired Gotti Tedeschi,” “Vatican Insider,” La Stampa, May 27, 2012; “Vatican Bank Board Fires President, Citing Neglect of Duties,” The Catholic Register, May 25, 2012.
30 Pullella and Silvia Aloisi, “Insight: Vatican Bank—Money, Mystery and Monsignors.”
31 Bardazzi, “No Transparency. That’s Why We Fired Gotti Tedeschi.”
32 Philip Pullella, “Vatican Faces Widening of Leaks Scandal,” Vatican City, Reuters, May 27, 2012.
33 Andrea Tornielli, “Tobin and His Coming and Going from the Roman Curia,” “Vatican Insider,” La Stampa, October 20, 2012, online at http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/world-news/detail/articolo/tobin-stati-uniti-united-states-estados-unidos-vescovi-bishops-obispos-19061/.
34 “Vatican Bank Board Fires President, Citing Neglect of Duties,” The Catholic Register.
35 Ibid.
36 Andrea Gagliarducci, “Holy See and Financial Transparency. The Path to the White List,” VaticanMonday, June 25, 2012; see also Francesca Biagiotti, “Ior, Gotti Tedeschi ai pm: ‘Tarantola mi fa sempre vedere le lettere che manda,’ ” Il Fatto Quotidiano, June 15, 2012.
37 Gotti Tedeschi quoted in “Vatican Bank Board Fires President, Citing Neglect of Duties,” The Catholic Register.
38 Gotti Tedeschi quoted in Pullella and Silvia Aloisi, “Insight: Vatican Bank—Money, Mystery and Monsignors.”
39 “Benedict XVI Surprised by IOR Chief Sacking, Says Secretary; Prelate Describes Relationship of Mutual Esteem Between Popes,” ANSA English Media Service, Vatican City, October 22, 2013.
Chapter 40: “A Time Bomb”
1 Nick Pisa, “The Pope’s Butler Arrested Following Vatileaks Investigation,” The Telegraph, May 25, 2012, 1.
2 Tom Kington, “Vatican Leaks.” See generally Jeffrey Kofman and Phoebe Natanson, “Vatican Documents Leaked: Did Butler Paolo Gabriele Do It?” ABC News, May 28, 2012.
3 Anderson interviewed in Bardazzi, “No Transparency. That’s Why We Fired Gotti Tedeschi.”
4 Marco Lillo, “IOR, Gotti Tedeschi ‘spiato’ da un medico. ‘Disfunzioni psicopatologiche, va cacciato,’ ” Il Fatto Quotidiano, June 9, 2012, 1; see also John Hooper, “Vatican Bank’s Former President Accused of Negligence,” The Guardian, June 10, 2012.
5 Andrea Gagliarducci, “Holy See and Financial Transparency. The Path to the White List.”
6 Avi Jorisch, “The Vatican Bank: The Most Secret Bank in the World.”
7 An
derson interviewed in Bardazzi, “No Transparency. That’s Why We Fired Gotti Tedeschi.”
8 Ibid. See also Maria Antonietta Calabrò, “Così lo Ior ha sfiduciato Gotti Tedeschi,” Corriere della Sera, May 26, 2012.
9 Letters quoted in Winfield, “Intrigue Mounts over Ouster of Vatican Bank Chief.”
10 Kington, “Vatican Leaks: No Respite for Pope Benedict.”
11 Andrea Gagliarducci, “Vatican Communications, Changes in the Making?” Monday Vatican, July 2, 2012.
12 “Mafia Vatican Funds ‘Explosive,’ ” The Australian, June 18, 2012.
13 Unnamed priest quoted in ibid.
14 Author interview with former consultant to the IOR, identity withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013.
15 See Andrea Tornielli, “Vatican Bank’s Former Head Under Shock After House Search,” “Vatican Insider,” La Stampa, June 6, 2012.
16 Ibid. Also author interview with attorney, name withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013; see also Wassermann and Wensierski, “Transparency vs. Money Laundering: Catholic Church Fears Growing Vatican Bank Scandal.”
17 See generally for Vatican resistance to EU oversight Pullella and Silvia Aloisi, “Insight: Vatican Bank—Money, Mystery and Monsignors.”
18 Author interview with attorney, name withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013.
19 There were four prosecutors waiting for Gotti Tedeschi: Vincenzo Piscitelli and Henry J. Woodcock from Naples, and Giuseppe Pignatone and Nello Rossi of Rome.
20 Author interview with attorney, name withheld at their request, Rome, September 2013.
21 See also John Hooper, “Vatican Bank’s Former President Accused of Negligence,” The Guardian, June 10, 2012.
22 Stacy Meichtry, “Vatican Peels Back Veil on Its Secretive Bank,” The Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2012, C3.
23 Memo entry quoted in Wassermann and Wensierski, “Transparency vs. Money Laundering: Catholic Church Fears Growing Vatican Bank Scandal.”
24 “If we continue with Bertone’s line, we’ll never get off the blacklist,” Gotti Tedeschi reportedly told the prosecutor. Ibid.
25 Ibid.
26 Marco Lillo, “IOR, Gotti Tedeschi ‘spiato’ da un medico. ‘Disfunzioni psicopatologiche, va cacciato,’ ” Il Fatto Quotidiano, June 9, 2012, 1.
27 Ibid. See also Andrea Gagliarducci, “Too much talking about Gotti Tedeschi. While the Holy See is working to gain financial transparency,” Monday Vatican, June 11, 2012.
28 Vatican statement quoted in Winfield, “Intrigue Mounts over Ouster of Vatican Bank Chief.”
29 Philip Pullella and Silvia Aloisi, “Insight: Vatican Bank—Money, Mystery and Monsignors,” Vatican City, June 8, 2012; see also Bardazzi, “No Transparency. That’s Why We Fired Gotti Tedeschi”; Winfield, “Intrigue Mounts over Ouster of Vatican Bank Chief.”
30 Bertone quoted in “Vatican Blames Media for Scandals,” The Independent (London), June 18, 2012.
31 Meichtry, “Vatican Peels Back Veil on Its Secretive Bank.”
32 As for how the brief visit to the IOR was reported, see Wassermann and Wensierski, “Transparency vs. Money Laundering: Catholic Church Fears Growing Vatican Bank Scandal.”
Chapter 41: The Swiss James Bond
1 The report is dated July 4, which is the date on which Moneyval provided a copy to the Vatican. It then provided the city-state time to respond, causing some final edits to the draft. After that response period, the report was released publicly on the 18th. For a digital copy see http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/moneyval/Evaluations/round4/MONEYVAL(2012)17_MER_HS_en.pdf
2 Half the bank’s clients are from religious orders; 15 percent are Holy See institutions, 13 percent are cardinals, bishops, and clergy, 9 percent are from Catholic dioceses. The remainder should have some “affiliation to the Catholic Church.” See Sanderson, “The Scandal at the Vatican Bank.”
3 Povoledo, “Report Sees Flaws.”
4 Mutual Evaluation Report, Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL).
5 Ibid., par. 797, 147.
6 “Moneyval Report: Giving Concrete Form To The Moral Commitment Of The Vatican And The Holy See,” Holy See Press Office, Vatican Information Services (VIS), Wednesday, July 18, 2012.
7 Nicole Winfield, “Pope’s Butler Pleads Innocent to the Theft Charge,” Vatican City, Associated Press, October 2, 2012; Elisabetta Povoledo, “Pope’s Former Butler Admits He Leaked Documents,” The New York Times, October 2, 2012.
8 See “Vatileaks, Sentenced to Two Months the Computer Sciarpelletti,” Il Fatto Quotidano, November 10, 2012; Giacomo Galeazzi, “The Poison-Pen Writer Has an Accomplice,” “Vatican Insider,” La Stampa, August 13, 2012.
9 Gabriele trial testimony quoted in Nicole Winfield, “Pope’s Butler Pleads Innocent to the Theft Charge.”
10 Gabriele trial testimony quoted in Elisabetta Povoledo, “Pope’s Former Butler Admits He Leaked Documents.”
11 Author interview with René Brülhart, Rome, September 23, 2013.
12 “On His Holiness’s Public Service: Can the Man Who Cleaned Up One Tiny State Do the Same for Another?,” The Economist, October 20, 2012.
13 Rachel Donadio and Andrew Higgins, “Power Struggle on Reforming Vatican Banks.”
14 Author interview with René Brülhart, Rome, September 23, 2013.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 “On His Holiness’s Public Service,” The Economist.
18 Author interview with René Brülhart, Rome, September 23, 2013.
19 Ibid. Much of what he instituted was a rigorous KYC “know your customer” protocol. KYC had been in place since 2002 but poorly executed. Now, under Brülhart, client profiles are extensive. Background information is obtained about the account holder, the source of the money, and what it is used for. All of that is rudimentary to virtually every modern bank, but at the IOR, where secret proxies had controlled accounts for decades, it seemed revolutionary.
20 Elisabetta Povoledo and Harvey Morris. “Debit and Credit Card Purchases Shut Down at Vatican,” The New York Times, January 4, 2013.
21 Ibid.
22 Sanderson, “The Scandal at the Vatican Bank.”
23 “Vatican Radio—Vatican Finance Expert Responds to Moves by Bank of Italy,” January 13, 2013, as reported in M. Antonietta Calabro, “The Vatican Surprised to Block Bank of Italy,” Corriere della Sera, January 13, 2013.
24 Author interview with René Brülhart, Rome, September 23, 2013.
25 Ibid.
26 Ibid.
27 Declaratio (declaration) of Pope Benedict, February 10, 2013, online at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2013/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20130211_declaratio_en.html
28 Author interview with René Brülhart, Rome, September 23, 2013. As for general speculation about why Benedict might have resigned, see generally Mark Dowd, “Why Did Pope Benedict XVI Resign,” BBC Radio 4, November 28, 2013.
29 The three cardinals were Spain’s Julián Herranz, Slovakia’s Jozef Tomko, and Palermo’s Salvatore De Giorgi. See generally John Hooper, “Papal Resignation Linked to Inquiry into ‘Vatican Gay Officials’, Says Paper,” The Guardian, February 21, 2013; Bill Hutchinson, “Vatican Clergy Gay-Sex Shock Priest Pics Real Drag for Benedict,” New York Daily News, February 23, 2013, 4.
30 Dowd, “Why Did Pope Benedict XVI Resign.”
31 Tom Kington, “Ex-Pope Benedict Says God Told Him to Resign During ‘Mystical Experience,’ ” The Guardian, August 21, 2013; Cindy Wooden, “Retired Pope’s Secretary Says ‘Mystical Experience’ Story Is Untrue,” Catholic News Service, August 26, 2013.
32 Assorted author interviews, names withheld on request, Rome, September 19, 21, 23, 2013; as for general speculation about why Benedict might have resigned, see generally Dowd, “Why Did Pope Benedict XVI Resign.”
33 Paolo Rodari, quoted in Rachel Donadio, “ ‘Constant Drumbeat’ Hastened the Pope’s Exit,” The
New York Times, February 13, 2013, A11.
34 Nuzzi, Ratzinger Was Afraid, 9–10.
35 Lombardi statement quoted in Mark Dowd, “Why Did Pope Benedict XVI Resign?” BBC News Magazine, BBC Radio 4, November 27, 2013.
36 Rachel Donadio, “Pope Names German Industrialist to Head Vatican Bank,” The New York Times, February 16, 2013, A6.
37 “Pope Approves German Lawyer to Head Embattled Bank,” USA Today, February 15, 2013.
38 Alessandro Speciale, “Ernst von Freyberg: Controversial New Vatican Bank President Appointed By Pope Benedict,” The Huffington Post, February 15, 2013.
Chapter 42: “The People’s Pope”
1 Tracy Wilkinson, “As a New Pope Is Chosen, Latin America Hopes for More Sway—Although a Latin American Pope Appears Unlikely, the 19 Cardinals from the Region Who Have a Vote at Next Month’s Conclave Are Hoping to Have More Influence This Time,” Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2013.
2 John L. Allen Jr., “Profile: New Pope, Jesuit Bergoglio, Was Runner-up in 2005 Conclave,” National Catholic Reporter, March 3, 2013.
3 Howard Chua-Eoan and Elizabeth Dias, “Pope Francis, the People’s Pope,” Time, December 11, 2013.
4 Paul Byrne, “Will the Next Pope Be Black?; Benedict XVI Quits—Who’ll Succeed Him? Ghanaian Cardinal Is Front-runner to Take Over,” Daily Mirror, February 12, 2013, 6–7.
5 Matthew Fisher, “Ouellet Was ‘Very Close’ to Papacy; Canadian Cardinal Was in a Two-Man Race with Argentina’s Bergoglio, Media Reports Claim,” The Gazette (Montreal), March 16, 2013, A3.
6 Nick Squires, “Division Among Cardinals Paved Way for Selection of Pope Francis,” The Christian Science Monitor, March 15, 2013.
7 Fisher, “Ouellet Was ‘Very Close’ to Papacy,” A3.
8 Brady and Dolan quoted in Squires, “Division Among Cardinals Paved Way for Selection of Pope Francis.”
9 “Pope Francis Reveals Why He Chose His Name,” Catholic Herald, March 16, 2013.
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