Australian media companies admit breaching Pell gag order
Australian media companies admitted in court Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, they breached a gag order in publishing references to Cardinal George Pells since-overturned convictions in 2018 for child sexual abuse. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File)CANBERRA โ Australian media companies admitted in court Monday they breached a gag order in publishing references to Cardinal George Pellโs since-overturned convictions in 2018 for child sexual abuse. The U.S. Constitutionโs First Amendment would prevent such censorship in the United States, so attempting to extradite an American for breaching an Australian suppression order would be futile. No Australian media company published a straight news report of Pellโs convictions, but some directed their audiences to international online reports. Because there was no second trial, no one is alleging that breaching the suppression order caused any harm.
Pope formally strips Vatican secretariat of state of assets
FILE - In this Monday, Dec. 21, 2020 file photo Pope Francis exchanges holidays greeting with Vatican employees in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican. Pope Francis has formally stripped the Vatican secretariat of state of its financial assets and real estate holdings following its bungled management of hundreds of millions of euros in donations and investments. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)ROME โ Pope Francis has formally stripped the Vatican secretariat of state of its financial assets and real estate holdings following its bungled management of hundreds of millions of euros in donations and investments that are now the subject of a corruption investigation. Francis signed a new law over the weekend ordering the secretariat of state to complete the transfer of all its holdings to another Vatican office by Feb. 4. Francis moved against his own secretariat of state amid an 18-month investigation by Vatican prosecutors into the officeโs 350-million-euro investment into a luxury residential building in Londonโs Chelsea neighborhood and other speculative funds.
AP Exclusive: Cardinal Pell on the Vatican and vindication
Cardinal George Pell answers' a journalists question during an interview with the Associated Press inside his residence near the Vatican in Rome, Monday, Nov. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)ROME โ The popeโs former treasurer, Cardinal George Pell, said Monday he feels a dismayed sense of vindication as the financial mismanagement he tried to uncover in the Holy See is now being exposed in a spiraling Vatican corruption investigation. After more than a year of investigation, no one has been indicted, though a handful of Vatican officials and Italian businessmen are under investigation. Pell, with his rather brusque, no-nonsense Australian sensibilities, clashed frequently with the Vaticanโs Italian old guard as he sought to get a handle on the Vaticanโs assets and spending. After Pell returned to Rome last month, he had a well-publicized private audience with Francis.
Australian media on trial for breaching order in Pell case
But the enormous international interest in an Australian criminal trial with global ramifications highlighted the difficulty in enforcing such orders in the digital age. No foreign news organization has been charged with breaching the suppression order. The U.S. Constitutionโs First Amendment would prevent such censorship in the United States, so attempting to extradite an American for breaching an Australian suppression order would be futile. โWe are not breaching the suppression order, just explaining why we canโt report on the story.โThe media defendants have not said what their defense is to be in the court case. De Ferrari said some of the individuals charged had said they were not aware that a suppression order existed.
Pope moves against secretariat of state amid finance scandal
ROME โ Pope Francis has given the Vatican secretariat of state three months to transfer all of its financial holdings to another Vatican office following its bungled management of hundreds of millions of euros in donations and investments that are now the subject of a corruption investigation. The Vatican released the letter that Francis wrote to Parolin on Aug. 25 in which he announced he was stripping the secretariat of state of its ability to independently manage the money. Its financial holdings are now to be held by the Vatican's treasury office, known as APSA and incorporated into the Holy See's consolidated budget, Francis wrote. The outcome is essentially that which was sought years ago by Cardinal George Pell, Francisโ first economy minister who clashed with the secretariat of state over his financial reform and transparency efforts. Francis moved against his own secretariat of state amid a year-long investigation by Vatican prosecutors into the office's 350-million-euro investment into a London real estate venture.
Woman close to Vatican cardinal arrested in corruption probe
VATICAN CITY โ The Vatican's latest corruption scandal already had all the elements of a spy thriller: One cardinal who was fired during a โsurreal" nighttime audience with the pope. Another cardinal, the nemesis of the first, who returned triumphantly to Rome after being acquitted of sexual abuse in Australia. Enter Cecilia Marogna, a 39-year-old political consultant who was arrested Tuesday in Milan on an international warrant issued by the Vatican, Italy's financial police confirmed Wednesday. According to Vatican documents published in Italian newspapers and shown on investigative television shows this week, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the onetime No. Italian Vatican commentator Luis Badilla, writing in the much-read Vatican blog Il Sismografo, has noted that that the new president of the Vatican criminal tribunal, a former Italian magistrate, is also an editorial commentator for Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, whose expose last month led to Becciu's ouster.
4 Swiss Guards test positive as COVID-19 penetrates Vatican
FILE - In this Oct. 4, 2020 file photo, Vatican Swiss Guards stand attention at the St. Damaso courtyard on the occasion of their swearing-in ceremony, at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. On Monday, Oct. 12, 2020, the Vatican said in a statement that four Swiss Guards have tested positive for the coronavirus, as the surge in infections in surrounding Italy enters the Vatican walls. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, file)ROME โ Four Swiss Guards have tested positive for coronavirus and were showing symptoms, the Vatican said Monday, as the surge in infections in surrounding Italy penetrates the Vatican walls. The Swiss Guards, the worldโs oldest standing army, provide ceremonial guard duty during papal Masses, man the Vatican gates and help protect the 83-year-old Pope Francis. They join three other Vatican residents who tested positive in recent weeks plus the dozen or so Holy See officials who tested positive during the first wave of the outbreak.
Cardinal Pell accuser denies bribe as Vatican intrigue grows
Cardinal George Pell has a drink in a cafe at the Vatican, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Corriere speculated that Becciu might have โboughtโ the testimony of Pellโs accuser to get Pell out of the Vatican. Becciu and Pell were known to have clashed over the Australianโs financial clean-up efforts at the Holy See. โIn relation to what has been published by some organs of information, I categorically deny any interference in the trial of Cardinal Pell,โ Becciu said in a statement released by his lawyer, Fabio Viglione. The Victoria Police media unit said Monday they couldnโt find any record that the Vatican had alleged witnesses against Pell were bribed with Vatican money.
Cardinal Pell returns to Vatican mired in financial scandal
Australian Cardinal George Pell arrives at Rome's international airport in Fiumicino, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. The 79-year-old Pell arrived at Romeโs Leonardo da Vinci airport on a flight from Sydney wearing a blue surgical mask. It wasn't immediately clear how long Pell would remain in the Vatican or what his agenda might involve. Pell and Becciu had long clashed over the Australian's efforts to bring greater transparency and accountability to the Vatican's balance sheets. In his first television interview after his release, Pell linked his fight against Vatican corruption with his prosecution in Australia.
Church says Cardinal Pell returning to Vatican in crisis
FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2019, file photo, Cardinal George Pell arrives at the County Court in Melbourne, Australia. Pell will fly back to Rome on Tuesday, CathNews, an information agency of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said, citing โsources close toโ Pell. Pellโs return follows Francis last week firing one of the cardinalโs most powerful opponents, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, over a financial scandal. In his first television interview after his release, Pell linked his fight against Vatican corruption with his prosecution in Australia. โI hope the cleaning of the stables continues in both the Vatican and Victoria,โ Pell said, referring to his home state of Victoria where he was convicted.