«A prosecutor called it “a case of surprising opaqueness, of silences and terrible mishandling of public money”. The conviction on Saturday of Giuseppe Profiti, ex-president of a Vatican-owned children’s hospital, for misusing his position to divert €422,000 ($499,000) from its funds, is a reminder of a dark side of the Catholic Church at odds with the ascetic modernising of Pope Francis. The money was to be used to refurbish the penthouse retirement apartment of the former Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, once the second-most-powerful man in the Church. Mr Bertone denied knowing of the hospital’s involvement and says he spent around €300,000 of his own, whereas the diverted cash went to the builder’s British-registered company. Yet the court heard that Mr Bertone had bypassed Vatican rules by hiring the builder, a friend, without seeking rival quotes. Curiously, the cardinal was not called to testify.»
The Economist Espresso
The cardinal was not called to testify. Why's that?
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