https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2022/01/court-upholds-ruling-against-two-ex-managers-of-vatican-bank
A Vatican appellate court has upheld the conviction of two
clerics in a corruption and money laundering scandal that dates back almost a
decade.
Does this represent a slap on the wrist or a sign of real reform
in the notoriously corrupt and scandal-ridden institution?
The sum of the penalty is quite large but as they can't be
expected to pay tens of millions of Euros personally, it may have no functional
meaning. The money will either be pulled from other accounts or more likely,
not paid back at all. The sale of the property involved could restore some of
the funds but would most likely fall short of full restitution.
Is this yet another case of Francis making enemies or is it a
token action? Are these clerics being 'thrown under the bus' or are they the
scapegoats, the two figures selected to be toppled allowing the others
(presumably in the dozens, and perhaps the real architects) to escape? We don't
know and given that these proceedings are internalised, we won't be privy to
them apart from some future leak.
It's not clear how much Francis is even personally involved.
If there are sinister machinations at work in this limited and somewhat cryptic
proceeding, it may be forces other than Francis within the Curia that are
making their move and making the call.
In terms of real reform vs. token actions, in reality it's
probably a bit of both.
Malta and Luxembourg have been mentioned as the sites hosting
funds that were used for real estate purchases – transactions apparently
underwritten by the Vatican. This is not fraudulent in itself but if the deals
were rotten to begin with and transparently so, then someone knowingly pledged
the money. Given that Malta and Luxembourg are also associated with money
laundering, there are other questions regarding the nature of these
transactions.
The bank took the losses – was this some kind of internal
corruption? Were these clerics paid off? Were they blackmailed? Is organised
crime involved? None of this is new territory when it comes to the Vatican
Bank.
We can only hope that more will be revealed and yet if the
Vatican itself is thrown into existential crisis and Francis doesn't intervene
– he will likely be in danger. If he does intervene to save the institution and
clamps down on information getting out and hampers the ability of international
prosecutors to pursue the crimes – then his enemies have won. He wants to
reform an institution that effectively cannot be reformed – at least not too
quickly and not in the open.
But the longer the scandal drags on, it provides yet more fodder,
another occasion for the enemies of the Vatican to point to the larger institution
as a moral and spiritual cesspool – which it certainly is.
See also:
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-latest-clampdown-on-ior.html
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2019/01/accountability-at-vatican-bank.html
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2019/10/ior-obstruction.html
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2019/04/orlandi-and-vatican-scandals-of-1970s.html
https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2018/01/italian-masonry-and-mafia.html
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