Police raid office of Cardinal Scola's friend hours before conclave

CWN - March 14, 2013

Italian police raided the home and office of a close friend of Milan’s Cardinal Angelo Scola on March 12, just before the opening of a papal conclave that the cardinal entered as a leading candidate for the papacy.

Police detectives carried out a series of raids on the offices and homes of officials involved in the health-care industry in Milan and the surrounding region of Lombardy. Police spokesman said that they were investigating charges of corruption in the delivery of medical supplies.

The timing of the raids—perhaps not coincidentally—was awkward for Cardinal Scola, not only because the Catholic Church is heavily involved in health-care institutions in Milan, but also because his longtime friend Roberto Formigoni is the leading figure in the health-care industry in Lombardy. Formigoni is also a key figure in the Communion and Liberation movement, with which Cardinal Scola has had close ties.

It seems unlikely that news of the raids reached the cardinal-electors before they entered their conclave. But the breaking news ensured that if he had been elected as Pontiff, Cardinal Scola would immediately have faced questions about the corruption charges. The timing of the raids also ensured maximum public exposure for the investigators who carried them out.

Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Progress toward our June expenses ($13,107 to go):
$30,000.00 $16,892.93
44% 56%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Catholic World News Email Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Thankfully, electing a pope is not like electing a president. 8 hours ago
Excellent critique of bias in New York Times abortion coverage 8 hours ago
Pope Francis the Frank June 18
“Illegals” are not “Immorals”: A Persistent Immigration Fallacy June 18
News coverage of the Vatican: the blind leading the blind June 18

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Vatican document demands governments protect refugees CWN - June 6
Pope acknowledges 'gay lobby' influence in Vatican CWN - June 11
Pope confirms he is completing encyclical on faith begun by Benedict XVI CWN - June 13