An Italian probe into the Vatican Bank for alleged violations of money-laundering laws is another example of a “fierce attack” on the Roman Catholic Church following criticism of Pope Benedict XVI and scrutiny of clerical sex- abuse cases, the bank’s Chairman Ettore Gotti Tedeschi has said, according to a report by Bloomberg, the financial service.
“The fierce attack on the church’s credibility started just six months after the publication” of Benedict’s encyclical “Caritas in Veritate” (Charity in Truth) in July 2009, he said yesterday, October 23, at a conference in Fermo, central Italy. “First it was the attack on the pope, then the pedophilia-related facts, and now it carries on with the case that involves me.”
Gotti Tedeschi’s remarks were confirmed by Milko Vitali, moderator of the conference. Gotti Tedeschi declined to comment further on his remarks, Vitali said by phone.
The Vatican Bank and its top executives, Gotti Tedeschi and Director General Paolo Cipriani, were put under investigation by Rome prosecutors last month for allegedly omitting data in wire- transfer requests from an Italian bank. Prosecutors froze 23 million euros ($32 million) in an account registered to the Institute for Religious Works, or the IOR as the Vatican Bank is called, at a Rome branch of Credito Artigiano SpA.
The IOR “took note” of a decision this week by a court in Rome to uphold the seizure of the funds, and reiterated that it is committed to financial transparency, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said in a statement late yesterday. Lombardi declined to comment by phone on Gotti Tedeschi’s remarks.
Other Cases
Three other IOR transactions are under scrutiny for alleged violations of money-laundering laws, Corriere della Sera said on Oct. 21, citing court documents. In one case, a priest allegedly moved 300,000 euros from an account in San Marino and transferred it to a businessman, Bloomberg reported.
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