PopeWatch: No Surprise

From The Pillar:

For the handful of people, like me, who have been waiting with bated breath for Moneyval, the European anti money laundering watchdog’s report on the Vatican, this was the week we finally got it.

Most media coverage noted the progress made in curtailing the risk of Vatican City being used for off-shore money laundering and tax evasion, and that is good news indeed. Fewer noted that report’s big takeaway: the main risk now facing Vatican financial institutions is internal corruption.

The report said inspectors found indications of “offenses of fraud, misappropriation, giving and receiving bribes, and abuse of office” by Vatican officials. 

Vatican officials told inspectors that “they consider the risk of abuse of office for personal or other benefits presented by insiders and related money laundering to be low,” according to the report.

“The assessment team disagrees with this conclusion and is of the view that risks presented by insiders are important.” Them and me both. 

Read the whole thing here.

Go here to read the rest. An appalling number of the clergy at the Vatican seem to be members of Team Simon Magus and they would sooner eat ground glass than tell some malefactor offering them a bribe, “May your money rot!‘