Holy See: ‘surprise and concern’ at seizure of Vatican bank president's dossier

June 11, 2012

The Holy See has issued a statement expressing “surprise and concern” at the decision by Italian authorities to seize a dossier prepared for the Pope by Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the recently fired head of the Vatican bank (IOR).

“The Holy See learned with surprise and concern of the recent events in which Prof. Gotti Tedeschi was involved,” the Holy See Press Office said in a statement. “It expresses the utmost confidence that the sovereign prerogatives of the Holy See, recognized internationally, will be adequately assessed and respected by the Italian judicial authority.”

Tedeschi’s home was raided as part of an investigation into corruption at an Italian aerospace firm. Vatican Radio reported that “Gotti Tedeschi himself is not under investigation.”

The press office’s statement also expressed “full confidence in the people who work with commitment and professionalism” at the Vatican bank and denied that Tedeschi’s firing was related to “a supposed opposition to the line of transparency to which the authorities of the Holy See and the IOR itself are wholeheartedly committed.”

 

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Further information:

• Comunicato Della Sala Stampa Della Santa Sede (Holy See Press Office)
• Holy See Press Office Statement on Gotti Tedeschi document seizure (Vatican Radio)
• Italian police seized Vatican bank president's dossier, intended for Pope (CWN, 6/8)
• Memo explains reasons for firing of Vatican Bank president (CWN, 5/28)