Defendant Chaouqui says Msgr. Balda was responsible for Vatican document leaks

January 08, 2016

Francesca Chaouqui, the Italian publicist charged with leaking Vatican documents, said that her co-defendant, Msgr. Lucio Vallejo Balda, was responsible for giving the confidential documents to journalists.

Chaouqui told a press conference that she had introduced Msgr. Balda to two journalists who eventually wrote books based on the leaked documents. But she insisted that “there was never any agreement to pass them private papers.” Msgr. Balda took that step on his own initiative, she said.

Chaouqui said that Msgr. Balda was motivated by a desire “to show that reform had not been put into practice.”

Chaouqui went on to say that she herself had always sought to help Pope Francis. She said that she had not released secret papers, and would never disclose what she had learned under conditions of papal secrecy.

Chaouqui has said that she expects to be convicted by a Vatican tribunal, although she continues to assert her innocence.

 

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Further information:

• Balda gave journalists documents says Chaouqui (ANSA)
• 'Vatileaks' defendant predicts guilty verdict, while insisting innocence (CWN, 1/4)