Vatican. Cardinal Maradiaga insults journalist of weekly l’Espresso

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Emiliano Fittipaldi writes that the cardinal received in Honduras millions of undocumented euros. He replies: spent for works of charity

On 23 December 2017, a week before the resignation for age limits, Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa (Honduras), one of the Pope’s closest collaborators, reacted to the publication of an article in the weekly L’Espresso titled “Cardinale 30 denari”, by addressing a series of insults to the author, Emiliano Fittipaldi (see).

Fittipaldi is one of the two journalists tried and acquitted at the Vatican in 2015-2016 for the Vatileaks2 affair on which he had published a much-sold book (see).

In an interview given to Honduran Catholic media and distributed by Suyapa Medios, a journalistic group owned by the Foundation for Education and Social Communications, and then taken up by the Italian media, the cardinal called Fittipaldi “a journalist with scarce ethics”, an enemy of the church, “destined for failure”, who receives money “from infamous books”.

The article that caused the cardinal’s reaction tells that for years he would have received 35 thousand euros a month from the Catholic University of which he is Grand Chancellor, he would have made international investments in the millions and would have paid resources to a foundation without justifying its destination. The accusation of non-transparent use of the funds is also addressed to the auxiliary bishop of Tegucigalpa, Juan José Pineda.

The cardinal commented that “it is all slander” and “an attack on the Holy Father” launched by those who “do not want the Curia to be reformed”. He called Fittipaldi’s accusations “old”, already widespread a year earlier by a former employee of the University dismissed for administrative misconduct. He added that he does not use the funds he receives from the University for personal purposes, but spends them without letting it be known, for charitable works for the needy in the archdiocese, for the sustenance of the country parish priests and for the medical treatment of the clergy. .

The weekly reported the criticism of the cardinal in the second episode of the investigation by Fittipaldi (see), inviting him to answer some questions.

COA (gt)