SENIOR CATHOLIC CARDINAL ACCUSED OF CORRUPTION

Oh my!
Seems like the church is having quite a bit of difficulty
these days.
:)

Senior Italian cardinal accused of corruption
Page last updated at 14:59 GMT, Sunday, 20 June 2010 15:59 UK
E-mail this to a friendPrintable version Cardinal Sepe faced a media barrage at church on Sunday A leading Italian Catholic cardinal and an ex-government minister are under investigation for corruption.

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, previously ran the department that co-ordinates the Vatican's foreign missions.

He is accused of colluding with Pietro Lunardi, a former transport minister, to offer cut-price property deals.

He says he will co-operate with the investigation despite his immunity as a Vatican diplomatic passport holder.

Cardinal Sepe is regarded as one of the most prominent cardinals in Italy, says the BBC's David Willey, in Rome.

Until 2006 he headed the Vatican department in control of financing overseas missions.

In that position he enjoyed access to the department's enviable portfolio of cash and property assets.

He now faces investigation alongside Mr Lunardi, a former minister in the centre-right government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, under the scope of an magistrates' investigation into a major corruption scandal involving prominent politicians.

Unwelcome news

According to newspaper reports in Italy, the pair are alleged to have colluded over a property deal that saw Mr Lunardi buy a building in Rome from Cardinal Sepe's department in 2004.

The building was sold at a price noticeably below market value, it is alleged.

In a statement, the Vatican said it hoped the situation "could be cleared up fully and rapidly in order to eliminate any shadows, be they on the person [Sepe] or Church institutions".

Read more:
[link to news.bbc.co.uk]