Vatican leaks scandal

The Vatican leaks scandal, also known as Vatileaks and Vati-Leaks, is a scandal beginning in 2012 initially involving leaked Vatican documents, exposing corruption. Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi published letters from Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò in which he exposed corruption that caused the Holy See to pay increased prices for contracts.

During the following months, the situation intensified as documents were leaked to Italian journalists, revealing power struggles inside the Vatican due to its efforts to implement greater financial transparency and comply with international norms to fight money laundering. In early 2012, an anonymous letter made newspaper headlines for its warning of a death threat against Pope Benedict XVI.^[1] The scandal increased in May 2012 when Nuzzi published a book entitled His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI consisting of confidential letters and memos between Pope Benedict and his personal secretary, a controversial book that describes the Vatican as riven with jealousy, intrigue and factional fighting.^[2] The book reveals details about the Pope's personal finances and includes tales of bribes made to procure an audience with him.