The books immediately surged to the top of Italian bestseller lists. “We must certainly avoid the mistake of thinking that this is a way to help the mission of the pope.” “Publications of this kind do not contribute in any way to establish clarity and truth, but rather to create confusion and partial and tendentious interpretations,” it continued. “With regard to the books announced for coming days, it must be clearly said that this time, as in the past, they’re the fruit of a grave betrayal of the trust shown by the pope,” read a Vatican press release. Italian journalist Emiliano Fittipaldi AP The arrests were widely viewed as a preemptory strike against the two books, “Merchants in the Temple” by Gianluigi Nuzzi, which was released in the US last week, and “Avaricia” by Emiliano Fittipaldi, which is only available in Italian. Whereas in the past, the Holy See has been a passive deflector of the leaks that seem to forever pour out of the Apostolic Palace, this time it came out punching. If nothing else, this month’s arrests signify a new strategy from the Church with regards to public relations. “A sexy bombshell embarrasses the Vatican.” Church of sin “Avarizia” (“Greed”) by Emiliano Fittipaldi (left) and “Via Crucis” (“Way of the Cross”) by Gianluigi Nuzzi. Peter’s Square.Īll of which served as prelude to last week, when Chaouqui was arrested, along with Balda, for illegally leaking confidential documents to a pair of Italian journalists writing tell-all books about fiscal chicanery at the Vatican.Īmong the howl of headlines in the Italian media was this one from the weekly newsmagazine Panorama: “ Una bomba sexy che imbarazza il Vaticano.” Then came the cocktail reception she hosted during the canonization Mass for John XXIII and John Paul II, serving champagne and passing hors d’oeuvres to VIPs on a rooftop patio while the masses teemed below in St. Or there were the photos of her on the Internet that hardly seemed churchly, ranging from the merely saucy (glamour shots better suited for a department-store ad) to the outright racy (semi-nude photos of herself and her then-boyfriend, now husband). Chaouqui was arrested last week for illegally leaking confidential documents to a pair of Italian journalists. The Italian press immediately pounced on some of her questionable social-media activity, like a tweet about Pope Benedict XVI having leukemia or another tweet about a cardinal being corrupt - posts Chaouqui explained away by saying her account had been hacked. And on a board whose mission was to help Pope Francis implement much-needed financial reforms on the Curia, the bureaucracy that governs the church, she was the only one without significant budgeting and accounting experience.Īs far as anyone could tell, she was only brought on because of her relationship with Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, a Spanish priest from the ultraconservative Opus Dei order who was serving as a liaison between the laypeople on the commission and the clergy. Her professional background was in public relations. She was, at 30, the youngest member on the influential eight-member panel by more than two decades. Her hiring in 2013 to be part of COSEA, the Pope’s Commission for Reference on the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See, was an eyebrow-raiser for Vatican watchers and Italian tabloids alike. Francesca Chaouqui was hired in 2013 for the Pope’s Commission for Reference on the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See. In a religion where the first woman in history is said to have caused all kinds of problems, the Roman Catholic Church should have perhaps been able to see what was coming with Francesca Chaouqui.
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