Vatican Corruption Scandal

Pope Francis said on Thursday that financial speculation and corruption were keeping millions of people in hunger and the financial crisis could not be used as an alibi for failing to help the poor.

The Vatican on Saturday condemned Italian media reports of intrigue, corruption and blackmail among senior prelates, saying these were meant to pressure cardinals ahead of their vote to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor.

The Vatican's inquisition into the source of leaked documents has yielded its first target with the arrest of the pope's butler, but the investigation is continuing into a scandal that has embarrassed the Holy See by revealing evidence of internal power struggles, intrigue and corruption in the highest levels of the Catholic Church governance.

The Vatican is having its own version of the WikiLeaks scandals that have hit the United States, spokesman Federico Lombardi has said following a recent rash of leaks to the Italian press.

Pope Francis said on Thursday that financial speculation and corruption were keeping millions of people in hunger and the financial crisis could not be used as an alibi for failing to help the poor.

The Vatican on Saturday condemned Italian media reports of intrigue, corruption and blackmail among senior prelates, saying these were meant to pressure cardinals ahead of their vote to elect Pope Benedict XVI's successor.

The Vatican's inquisition into the source of leaked documents has yielded its first target with the arrest of the pope's butler, but the investigation is continuing into a scandal that has embarrassed the Holy See by revealing evidence of internal power struggles, intrigue and corruption in the highest levels of the Catholic Church governance.

The Vatican is having its own version of the WikiLeaks scandals that have hit the United States, spokesman Federico Lombardi has said following a recent rash of leaks to the Italian press.