Texts reveal behind-the-scenes maneuvering of the Vatican’s ‘trial of the century’
Texts reveal behind-the-scenes maneuvering of the Vatican’s ‘trial of the century’
When the appeals trial opens Monday in the Vatican's “trial of the century,” thousands of pages of WhatsApp text messages will be taking center stage
VATICAN CITY -- In the last two years, defense lawyers have acquired 3,225 pages of WhatsApp messages between two women who were tangential to the Vatican's “trial of the century,” but were actually intimately aware of the investigation and in some ways involved.
Their four years of conversations, from 2020-2024, provide a parallel, behind-the-scenes version of one of the most tumultuous periods in Vatican history, when Pope Francis authorized a trial of 10 people, including a cardinal, into alleged financial misconduct.
The chats, written in Italian and translated here by The Associated Press, suggest that these two women helped persuade one of the original prime suspects in the case, Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, to change his story and turn on his former …