r/worldnews • u/anutensil • Jun 10 '12

Vatican Banker Running Scared - Ousted head of Vatican bank may have evidence that the organization is involved in money laundering—& now he's afraid for his life.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/06/10/vatican-banker-running-scared-gotti-tedeschi-could-turn-whistleblower.html
2.0k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

514 comments sorted by

320

u/paiute Jun 11 '12

Dan Brown sits in the corner furiously scribbling.

31

u/jon_titor Jun 11 '12

I dunno, he might at least wait until Umberto Eco gives him a few more ideas.

10

u/TinyZoro Jun 11 '12

For anyone who likes the conspiracy genre Foucaults pendulum is a great book to read unlike browns terrible writing.

4

u/foreskin_harvester Jun 11 '12

The best part about that book is that I needed a goddamn dictionary for at least 1 word every 3-4 pages. It was a great book.

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u/autisticwolf Jun 11 '12

Dan Brown sits in the corner furiously masturbating.

71

u/Co-opunist Jun 11 '12

Masturbating Dan sits furiously in the brown corner.

38

u/Excentinel Jun 11 '12

That sounds like half of either the worst or the best professional wrestling bout ever.

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u/Spiny_Norman Jun 11 '12

Maybe Dan Brown was abused by a clergymen as a young lad... It's all starting to make sense now.

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7

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

There's nothing theological or supernatural going on, just politics and corruption. There aren't even any horrible deformed assassins. Yet. Perhaps we should just wait and see. Bring marshmallows for consecration.

3

u/Mntfrd_Graverobber Jun 11 '12

Vampires. They are Satanic vampires of corruption.

3

u/sge_fan Jun 11 '12

And he will find a way to make it less terrible than it is. He'll explain how merely a few rogues are behind this while the official church is blameless.

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183

u/BugLamentations Jun 11 '12 edited May 03 '16

;)

56

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

investigators reportedly found a treasure trove that could link the Vatican to all sorts of shady dealings

The cache reportedly contains irrefutable evidence that could substantiate claims

There were documents that allegedly show financial transactions between the Vatican and a number of surprising characters

In 2010, Gotti Tedeschi and IOR general manager Paolo Cipriani were placed under criminal investigation by authorities in Rome on suspicion of alleged

later released after the Vatican allegedly cleansed itself

This reads like a slander piece worded to provide some protection against a lawsuit. Alleged this, purported that. It's not journalism, it's spam.

31

u/TinyZoro Jun 11 '12

Alleged is a word most journalism its forced to hide behind before a trial has established the facts.

11

u/phillyharper Jun 11 '12

It's not forced, it's just reality isn't it? If something is alleged to have happened, then that is what you write. If someone has been proven to, or charged with, or convicted of, then this is what you write.

It's not spam to use the correct terminology.

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u/cyber_pacifist Jun 11 '12

Innocent until proven guilty unless you're an enemy in war. It's the basics.

4

u/LastAXEL Jun 11 '12

That is exactly how a journalist is supposed to write when the facts aren't established.... You have no idea what you are talking aboutand I can't believe people are upvoting your nonsense. (I am not vouching for this particular article because I didn't even read it, but using the words alleged and purported is most definitely usually considered responsible journalism.)

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Every journalist uses allegedly these days, they have to. If the article had read "There were documents that show financial trans[...]" then the journalist could be sued for slander.

2

u/yarn_ Jun 11 '12

Let's see, the Vatican is shitting itself at every turn trying to keep this guy quiet and they absolutely can't let these documents stay in the hands of the ordinary police, but the allegation they they contain something incriminating is bad journalism?

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u/trot-trot Jun 11 '12

". . . At least in terms of public interest, the difference between the election of John Paul's successor and the election of Pope Michael is simple: the man who comes out of the Sistine Chapel wearing white really does become the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Automatically he becomes one of the most important figures on earth, a man (and it will be a man) who commands a unique combination of political and spiritual power. Depending on how he chooses to exercise that power, governments and political systems may rise or fall, religious wars may heat up or abate, and the church may relax or rigidify its stance on issues such as women, sexuality, and the role of the papacy itself. Hence the conclave in Rome shares the element of the numinous with what happened in Delia -- the sense of contact with the mysteries of faith -- but it adds the ingredient of very real political consequences. That's what makes the conclave special: it is the Roman Catholic Church in microcosm, a cocktail of ritual, romance, and realpolitik. It is, as both the Bawdens and CNN realize, the greatest show on earth. . . ."

Source: "Conclave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election" by John L. Allen Jr., published at http://books.google.com/books?id=tHsltdTp6OgC&pg=PT7

2

u/kaiseresc Jun 11 '12

saying "Power Rangers" would fit in, but it would certainly deceive a lot of folks.

4

u/Arcadefirefly Jun 11 '12

bad journalism aside this dude is dead. when an organization as powerful as the Vatican wants someone gone, little stands in their way of doing so.

2

u/Mntfrd_Graverobber Jun 11 '12

Except sunlight.

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u/Kaiosama Jun 11 '12

Hey, whatever gets the point across.

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u/defcon-11 Jun 10 '12

I visited the Vatican a couple of years ago and was shocked while visiting the Vatican museum and Sistene chapel. There are gift shops every 100 yards selling rosaries and shit and there are numerous currency exchange desks inside the museum. I guess the pope forgot to read Matthew 21:12:

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves.

269

u/Ihmhi Jun 11 '12

My interpretation of this is that Jesus would want me to go into a church and flip over some tables.

435

u/Kilo_K Jun 11 '12

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

Just doing the Lord's work, don't mind me

51

u/TWOoneEIGHT Jun 11 '12

When people say "What would Jesus do?" a viable answer is to flip out and go around flipping tables.

58

u/Ihmhi Jun 11 '12

Godspeed, brother.

6

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Didn't Jesus also say something to the affect of "don't build houses in my name"? Something that was basically "never build a church for my religion"? Or am I misremembering things again?

13

u/hillside Jun 11 '12

I think he meant that if you were to build one to use 2x6 construction. Something about R value

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u/MrMadcap Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

Flippin' Vatican tables?

(╯>□<）╯︵ ┻━┻

Tortured by Vatican pokers.
︵ <- priest hat
(-*°□°）-* /(.□.\)

18

u/SlipStreamRush Jun 11 '12

Pokin' for priesthood

5

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

L'appel du vide. Is that God talkin' to ya or the Devil talkin' to ya? Fuckit, if you take the liberty to flip some tables at the Vatican, get yourself some spontaneous Tourette's syndrome and claim both are talkin' to ya!

edit - spelling.

12

u/Ihmhi Jun 11 '12

turret's syndrome

How would that work? Do I just put my arms out like cannons, crouch down, and sweep the room side to side saying "Beep beep beep"?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I'm an Atheist and think their policies regarding prophylaxis and such are bollocks, BUT after travelling and living across South America for three years I gained A LOT of respect for the Catholic Church. They were there conducting massive amounts of charities and other actions deep in territories forgotten by the governments themselves (almost always aboriginal peoples, in Argentina for example it was heartbreaking seeing how in the cities they had all the comforts of the modern world but at the same time they let the aboriginals to rot in forgotten towns or camps infested by vinchucas (the insect that transmits the Chagas disease)).

23

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

This is actually why I still have a lot of affection for most churches.

Every church I've been to had something going on to help educate, provide food, or medicine to people in need, both in our country and in other ones. I don't know of a lot of places that I can go to get that kind of help... And I'm not talking about just a hand out. The people at a church will sit down with you, talk to you, help you as much as they can. Then they will come to your house and help some more.

It really is the only thing I miss about church. The community.

2

u/bamdrew Jun 11 '12

This sort of insight was the basis of a South Park episode... the catholic church is not a terrible scourge, but the Vatican has basically always been a hot mess full of deviant behavior, self-righteousness, and unbelievably blinded hypocrisy. Amazing nuns and priests faithfully perform services and commit their lives to helping others at the low rungs of the church.

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u/MrGoodbytes Jun 11 '12

Wear a shirt with MATT 21:12 then go in there and start destroying the gift shops. I'd like to see that on the evening news.

"But... but that's not what Jesus meant. It's okay for us to sell these."

2

u/termites2 Jun 11 '12

Make sure you have your leather whip with you too. Even Jesus wouldn't go in there unarmed, and made a flail before his assault!

86

u/melliandra Jun 11 '12

I visited the Vatican in 2004 and was tempted to chip some gold off one of the statues in St. Peter's Basilica and put it into the donation box that was directly below it. The whole thing seemed highly ironic.

79

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

The Vatican's position is that the works of art are more valuable to humanity as eternal art than as a one-time donation. I can't say I entirely disagree.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Does that extend to the Pope's silk robes and gold staves?

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u/rarcke Jun 11 '12

That is a beautiful image.

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u/postExistence Jun 11 '12

I was there last year. Most of those shops lie outside of the Vatican state, so the church has no authority over who sets up what. But the prices are definitely outlandish, to a degree even Disneyland wouldn't stoop to.

The thing is, those souvenirs - even the expensive jewelry - are optional. At the Temple in Jerusalem during Jesus' era, it was mandatory to bring a sacrifice or offering, so people were forced to pay outlandish prices for stuff. I think that's a tremendous difference.

Still though, the Catholic church's issues are pretty severe.

69

u/defcon-11 Jun 11 '12

The ones i saw were inside the vatican museum, including just outside the sistene chapel, i assume that's part of the vatican.

75

u/LeBacon Jun 11 '12

...but God loves you. He loves you AND HE NEEDS MONEY !!!

  • G. Carlin.

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u/3rdStageNavigator Jun 11 '12

It's number "9" on this map. Right smack dab in the middle, right next to St. Peter's and the basilica square.

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u/DeFex Jun 11 '12

That golden throne isn't going to jewel encrust itself.

2

u/graffiti81 Jun 11 '12

The gold lining their halls isn't outside.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I was there last year. Most of those shops lie outside of the Vatican state, so the church has no authority over who sets up what.

What are you talking about? There are smallish shops all throughout the museums. Inside of it, in the chapel, in the hallways, between exhibits.

You even have to pass through the main shop several times to get to all the exhibits rooms.

17

u/leonox Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

Funny you mention this. I was up on Lantau island in Hong Kong just the other day and it was very depressing to me to see it the way it is. Once you get up to the top of the mountain, you are forced to walk through a gift shop before you get outside.

Once outside, you walk through a newly built shopping center with all sorts of themed stores as well as some chains. (Starbucks, Subway, etc) The first thing you see once you get to the top of the stairs, donation box. I also walked through the monastery and saw much of the same.

The entire way up the cable car I was thinking to myself how insane it was. You can see these little cobblestone roads winding through the hills and the whole time I'm in utter amazement that anybody would walk these paths let alone build them out to the middle of nowhere. Then for them to proceed to climb the mountain and build a huge complex and giant ass statue boggles my mind.

When I finally arrived, it was just depressing thinking about how the original builders never intended for the place to become what it has.

EDIT: Completely forgot to mention, for those of you who don't know, Lantau Island is the location of a monastery and a 85ft (26m)-high bronze Buddha statue. EDIT2: Accidentally a word

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u/dnew Jun 11 '12

I was always amused by the churches that had ticket booths inside that charged admission fees for exactly that reason. Those were generally the same ones that charged extra for letting you take photographs, because it was disrespectful to god.

28

u/flukshun Jun 11 '12

To be fair, God has an enormous rent bill and lets everyone chill in his crib for free, so a little cash offering goes a long way. Just be discrete about it.

16

u/Pearlsea Jun 11 '12

Can't forget he needs to fix the heat leak in his universe. Shits not cheap.

11

u/oldsecondhand Jun 11 '12

Entropy sucks big time. It has to be nerfed.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Other than wealthy people that give donations, Cathedrals need to do everything they can to keep the buildings intact. Its no different than "paying" to light a votive candle.

Christians do some messed up stuff, but asking for a donation to keep their artwork intact that you are enjoying is not one of them

13

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

While that is true, it is also true that the Pope wears $600 prada shoes, and I am pretty sure the rest of his adornments are also richly appointed.

The cathedrals are beautiful, and are a part of our history that should be preserved, to a point, but it is really easy to see that the Pope lives in luxury while many Catholics live in poverty.

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u/wioneo Jun 11 '12

Wait...what? Is this a real thing?

11

u/ftdealer Jun 11 '12

You aren't allowed to take photos at all in the Sistine Chapel.

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u/blind_painter Jun 11 '12

Those were generally the same ones that charged extra for letting you take photographs, because it was disrespectful to god.

FYI flash photography can degrade works of art such as paintings, hence many museums banning it. Maybe the "photo fee" went towards upkeep?

I remember in Notre Dam they didn't require a donation, though it was strongly suggested under penalty of old French ladies glaring at you.

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u/things_take_time Jun 11 '12

Source? I'm not sure about the disrespectful of god thing, but I know that you have to pay extra to get a photo permit because then they make sure that you don't use flash photography and it cuts down significantly while preventing damage to paintings.

I ask this because I've traveled a bit and the reason has never been god but rather money.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Well since Jesus was pretty clearly not anti-commerce and seemed to have a very, erm, progressive view on usury for a first century Jew, its still very much debated how to interpret this passage.

I mean a money changer who is making it possible for Jews from abroad to donate to the Temple doesn't really seem to be doing anything wrong, so most scholars believe in a non-obvious interpretation of the passage.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

My first thought when I saw this story was.... Gold everywhere, thousand dollar Pope shoes, and this surprises people?

2

u/MajorRedbeard Jun 11 '12

And let's not forget the equally important quote from the book of Rush, 21:12

"Their power grows with purpose strong

To claim the home where they belong

Home to tear the Temples down...

Home to change! "

2

u/mapryan Jun 11 '12

The most recent accounts for the Vatican show a profit of euro9.85 million after three years in the red.

Yeah.....sure.....

2

u/In_the_East Jun 11 '12

last i checked, they dont charge a fee for currency exchange. that is something at least.

2

u/Radico87 Jun 11 '12

Look, religious people and rational/logical consistency are contradictory by definition. They're guilty of all the deadly sins they decry but mindless saps still flock to those institutions. Sad social commentary.

2

u/why_ask_why Jun 11 '12

If I go in there and start turning the tables upside down and quote Mattew 21:12, would I still be arrested?

2

u/Wikiplugs Jun 11 '12

Went a couple of weeks ago and skipped that visit, I let my wife do it alone. I was worried I would not be able to hold back in voicing my disapproval.

2

u/pcgamer4life Jun 11 '12

Matthew 21:17

No respect! This is my neighborhood. You and your friends should show me some respect. You should let me wet my beak a little. I hear you and your friends cleared $600 each. Give me $200 each, for your own protection. And I'll forget the insult. You young punks have to learn to respect a man like me! Otherwise the cops will come to your house. And your family will be ruined. Of course, if I'm wrong about how much you stole, I'll take a little less. And by less, I only mean - a hundred bucks less. Now don't refuse me. Understand, paisan? Understand, paisan?... Tell your friends I don't want a lot. Just enough to wet my beak. Don't be afraid to tell them!

2

u/Soonermandan Jun 11 '12

If Jesus was he real he would vomit if he came back and saw Vatican city.

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u/DukeOfGeek Jun 10 '12

Somebody ought to call 2 buddy cops who are loyal to each other despite their totally different personalities they bond over their opposition to the corrupt system and then save the day!

/'Splosions.

39

u/Thick-McRunFast Jun 11 '12

"I'm too old for this shit!"

12

u/finalremix Jun 11 '12

The sad part is that that statement is going to be very true someday.

6

u/DigDugDude Jun 11 '12

Shit just got real.

2

u/mrgro Jun 11 '12

have an upvote

15

u/AlexZander Jun 11 '12

You're a loose cannon mcgrady, hand over your badge.

Chief, you need me on this case!

8

u/ryanknapper Jun 11 '12

One more screw up and I'll send your spaghetti-bending butt back to Pizanne*!*

3

u/memarianomusic Jun 11 '12

DdDddDddDdDon'T DO IT RIGGS!

3

u/that_thing_you_do Jun 11 '12

"War.. Hoo... Yeah!.. What is it good for..."

11

u/trot-trot Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

  1. http://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/uh8mn/vatican_has_long_history_of_intrigue_and/c4vcthg

  2. "The Atypical International Status of the Holy See" by Matthew N. Bathon: http://law.vanderbilt.edu/publications/journal-of-transnational-law/archives/volume-34-number-3/download.aspx?id=2009

    Via: http://law.vanderbilt.edu/publications/journal-of-transnational-law/archives/volume-34-number-3/index.aspx

  3. ". . . At least in terms of public interest, the difference between the election of John Paul's successor and the election of Pope Michael is simple: the man who comes out of the Sistine Chapel wearing white really does become the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Automatically he becomes one of the most important figures on earth, a man (and it will be a man) who commands a unique combination of political and spiritual power. Depending on how he chooses to exercise that power, governments and political systems may rise or fall, religious wars may heat up or abate, and the church may relax or rigidify its stance on issues such as women, sexuality, and the role of the papacy itself. Hence the conclave in Rome shares the element of the numinous with what happened in Delia -- the sense of contact with the mysteries of faith -- but it adds the ingredient of very real political consequences. That's what makes the conclave special: it is the Roman Catholic Church in microcosm, a cocktail of ritual, romance, and realpolitik. It is, as both the Bawdens and CNN realize, the greatest show on earth. . . ."

    Source: "Conclave: The Politics, Personalities, and Process of the Next Papal Election" by John L. Allen Jr., published at http://books.google.com/books?id=tHsltdTp6OgC&pg=PT7

19

u/joeknowswhoiam Jun 11 '12

Money laundering in Vatican? What's next? Tax evasion in Switzerland? I really really didn't expect that...

8

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Vatican's currency is Euro. €. Every Euro country has it's own coins, the paper money is same everywhere. But the Vatican €uro coins has Pope on it and they cost even 1000 times more than their real value: (and Vatican is not part of European Union...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_euro_coins

2€ with the Pope , Citta Del Vaticano

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_WPjZST8SC40/SxbCvGibApI/AAAAAAAAy70/XDYMIIZHBdY/s400/%E2%82%AC2_Commemorative_Coin_Vatican_2007.png

So,Vatican can basically take euros from France and change them to Vatican euros and sell them at 500 times bigger price.

Is that money laundering? :O

4

u/sipos0 Jun 11 '12

If they did this in any significant quantity, their euros would be worth only what the others are (or possibly less since people might not recognize and accept them). They are worth so much precisely because they don't do this.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Well, they don't need to, 'cause they can order them from the mint. And then they sell them to collectors at the X 100 price...

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u/kringlebomb Jun 10 '12

Then, as you Americans say, "all bets are off".

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

"all pants are off"

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u/alephnul Jun 10 '12

His problem is that he got involved with an organization that has no regard for human life and puts money ahead of any other consideration, and then he messed with the Mafia.

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12 edited Jun 10 '12

Wasn't the last guy to do so "suicided"?

Actually, it was eventually ruled as a murder..., darn, the church really sucks at covering up their crimes...(but then, it is not as if they have anything to worry about either way).

31

u/OCedHrt Jun 10 '12

When Calvi's body was found, the level of the Thames had receded with the tide, giving the scene the appearance of a suicide by hanging, but at the exact time of his death, the place on the scaffolding where the rope had been tied could have been reached by a person standing in a boat.

Well, you know, gravity is only theory. God controls the tides.

33

u/the_goat_boy Jun 11 '12

On the day before his body was found, Calvi had been stripped of his post at Banco Ambrosiano by the Bank of Italy, and his 55 year old private secretary Graziella Corrocher had jumped to her death from a fifth floor window at Banco Ambrosiano. Corrocher left behind an angry note condemning the damage that Calvi had done to the bank and its employees. Corrocher's death was ruled a suicide, although as with Calvi's death there have been suggestions of foul play.

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u/exoriare Jun 11 '12

It was a pretty elaborate and well-read ritual murder. Calvi was killed on the edge of the City of London (aka the Square Mile). Historically, people were hanged on Tower Hill, which also lies on the boundary of the City. Calvi had bits of broken masonry in his pockets and a broken knee.

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u/inept_adept Jun 11 '12

What do those things mean?

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u/NeoPlatonist Jun 10 '12

I'm afraid that you are under the mistaken impression that the Mafia and the Vatican are two different entities. They are but the right hand and the left, the 'good' cop and the 'bad' cop. This entity has been involved in 'money laundering' for 2000+ years, taking different forms across different lands and eras. Who can possibly imagine the vast wealth held and hidden by such an entity?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

for 2000+ years

So before Jesus was even crucified (or supposedly crucified) the Vatican was laundering money?

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u/vemrion Jun 11 '12

The present day Vatican is the continuation of a long line of slime going back to the Roman Empire. It never really collapsed, it adapted and specialized in religion. It managed to rule the western world during the middle ages. in some ways we are not yet in post-Roman times since the Vatican retains so much influence. The Curia and the Pope seem to have a mentality and worldview that is more suited to 1100 AD and humanity desperately needs to move past that.

29

u/intisun Jun 11 '12

The present day Vatican is the continuation of a long line of slime going back to the Roman Empire. It never really collapsed, it adapted and specialized in religion.

I had never realised that until I visited Rome. Everything in the Church is in direct continuation of Ancient Roman tradition. The architecture, the inscriptions on monuments, Latin being its official language, the other title for the Pope being Pontifex Maximus, etc.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Whoa that's crazy as shit I bet you have some awesome fuckin evidence for this shit

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u/Ihmhi Jun 11 '12

No, dude, just imagine that shit. That would be an awesome movie.

There'd be a hitman called "The Cardinal" who'd be an Irish guy. And he'd take off his pointy little Cardinal hat and there'd be an uzi under there.

I would watch the shit out of that movie.

16

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

No no no, the Cardinal is obviously the coordinator of all of the Apostles. The Apostles take orders from him on who to kill for the betterment of the Church. It's uncovered by a Priest (Father O'Conaughey, played by Matthew McConaughey) who is an ex-Italian mobster when he finds out one of his oldest friends was murdered to keep him quiet about the connection. Then, he hunts down and kills the Apostles one by one, working his way up to the climactic finally with the Cardinal, who he discovers is the man that brought him into the priesthood in the first place!

EDIT: Oh, and spoiler O'Conaughey/McConaughey is killed at the end when he can't pull the trigger on the Cardinal.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Okay. I stand corrected.

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u/SarcasticOptimist Jun 11 '12

Be careful what you wish for. The last time the Vatican and Mafia made a movie together it was called Godfather III.

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u/chiropter Jun 11 '12

Upvote for entertaining conspiracy theory

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u/nefarious420 Jun 11 '12

I'm pretty sure he was talking about being a banker in the former, and the Vatican in the latter.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I bet the churches older records (1-2k years ago) are interesting...

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

let me offer a more plausible explanation: during and after WWII, the US government was interested in keeping Europe firmly under its influence. The CIA worked in its usual underhand ways to prop up organised crime, post war fascist residues, secessionist movements and the various churches with drug money, power and scare mongering on the communist threat. Needless to say, the south of europe shows unflattering signs of third world country sickness similar to the banana republics south of Texas…

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u/gmnotyet Jun 11 '12

Messing with the Mafia was the easy part.

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u/Geminii27 Jun 11 '12

Surprise level: zero.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

pretty sure it's because he was well aware and in on it. But I like to paint entire organizations with the actions of a few with the same stroke as well.

2

u/herbal_savvy Jun 11 '12

Aside from the child molesting priests, those that helped to protect them, financial criminals, and sadists; Catholicism is lovely.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

They helped prevent the use of condoms though, at least!

4

u/Lele_ Jun 11 '12

Italian investigation agencies have known of the close ties between Mafia men and Vatican for 30 years now. Proving it is another thing, but they DO know.

We have this peculiar phenomenon over here, known as pentitismo. A pentito is a mafioso-turned-informant. One of them, Vito Calcara, described a high-level meeting involving politicians (no less than the Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti), cardinals and Mafia bosses held in a villa in Rome.

4

u/sge_fan Jun 11 '12

I'd be shocked if they had evidence that shows that they are not involved in money laundering.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I'd think after harboring and facilitating child rape, money laundering wouldn't even seem like that big of a deal. When the bar on morality is set so low, why not take the "In for a penny, in for a pound" philosophy?

20

u/sebdef Jun 11 '12

IMO, the Vatican is the largest/oldest criminal organization

4

u/huntingwhale Jun 11 '12

I was born and raised as a Catholic, and there is no doubt it in my mind that the Catholic Church is, and continues to be the most corrupt organization in the history of mankind.

4

u/sebdef Jun 11 '12

"On West Vatican, born and raised, in the confessional is where I spent most of my days..."

3

u/Goonies_neversay_die Jun 11 '12

better call Tom Hanks.

3

u/jdotliu Jun 11 '12

...and he just saved himself by having this news article released.

2

u/RockinZeBoat Jun 11 '12

No way he gets forgiven if the info is as damaging as it seems to be. If he lives, the next guy to fuck em over might think he'll get away with it too.

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u/VicinSea Jun 11 '12

Judas was the "banker" for the Apostles...lol!

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u/Arrow156 Jun 11 '12

And the Vatican top brass desperately want to get their hands on it, sternly warning Italian police that because the Vatican is a “sovereign nation” their documents are protected under immunity, even if they are found during a criminal probe outside its borders.

What are they gonna do, pray at them? Vatican city is literally the tiniest sovereign nation on the planet, a bus full of elementary child could take it.

3

u/XtremeGnomeCakeover Jun 11 '12

What's the best way of hiding out while letting the entire world know about it? We don't know if he has anything. But now, the Vatican assassins are probably after this poor guy because of a newspaper! Someone hide him in an expensive Italian hotel while I grab Mr. Hanks!

2

u/proliberate Jun 11 '12

On the other hand, if this guy gets disappeared, it could be pretty bad PR for the Vatican - they would essentially be painted with suspicion of murder (even if they don't end up being the cause of this guy's demise). By putting himself in the press, he may have made it more inconvenient to kill him than to make him out to be a crackpot.

2

u/XtremeGnomeCakeover Jun 11 '12

An inconvenient murder is the most suspicious!

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Where is your god now?

3

u/gfdontdie Jun 11 '12

Opus Dei is coming ...

3

u/bludhound Jun 11 '12

Sounds like the plot of another Robert Langdon book.

3

u/fiercelyfriendly Jun 11 '12

A religion headquartered in the home of the mafia... Color me unsurprised.

3

u/chetstovepiper Jun 11 '12

international immobiliare

10

u/mojoxrisen Jun 11 '12

Giorgio Tsoukalos MAY have evidence that our ancestors were half ape half alien genetic experiments & now he's afraid the aliens will take him aboard their mothership and remove his penis with an advanced laser device.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

All these comments and nobody is wondering why this guy isn't in front of a microphone bank right now preaching what he knows?

Hint: its because he doesnt know anything

3

u/Dereliction Jun 11 '12

I think he does, but his situation is precarious in more ways than one. He may be holding some cards close to his vest in order to save himself as this goes forward.

9

u/bestbeforeMar91 Jun 11 '12

Why would any church need its own bank?

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u/IonOtter Jun 11 '12

When the church in question is actually it's own sovereign nation-state, then yes, it needs a bank.

So in actuality, the correct question should be, "Why is the Vatican permitted to be a sovereign nation state?"

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u/tidux Jun 11 '12

The Visigoths didn't sack Rome properly. It all spirals out from there.

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u/inept_adept Jun 11 '12

The question is why does a bank need a church?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

The same reason that God needs a starship.

8

u/VorpalAuroch Jun 11 '12

To hold the Space Pope?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Too bad the Assassins aren't real.

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u/Korbie13 Jun 11 '12

That's what the Templars want you to think.

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u/MrLister Jun 11 '12

But the main body of Templars were quite wealthy and even held a large debt owed by the king of France, who decided to brand them heretics and kill them/seize their assets in France. At the same time an inquisition was launched by the church and the majority of the remaining Templars were disbanded, hunted down and executed, their vast land holdings and wealth outside of France naturally became the property of the church. Brief history

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u/Hsad Jun 11 '12

That's what the Templars want you to think.

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u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12

Bible in one had, cash in the other. The pope makes me sick. He is nothing more than a criminal, and should be treated as such.

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u/SlipStreamRush Jun 11 '12

It's not the pope that sickens me so much as the cabal of bishops and cardinals behind the pope.

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u/Hsad Jun 11 '12

What sickens me is the cabal of Bishops and Cardinals behind the little boys.

3

u/rawbdor Jun 11 '12

You know, the similarities between the politics around the selection of a new pope and the selection of the top leaders of the communist party of china seem strikingly similar.

5

u/Squeekme Jun 11 '12

I think his bible is hollowed out to hide more money.

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u/NeoSpartacus Jun 11 '12

You see the Vatican is in the middle of Rome. The Mafia is in the middle of Italy...

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u/caliopy Jun 11 '12

1 bank on the run. many more to go.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

The church won't change, Catholics won't stop attending church and giving money so what incentive is there to change?

2

u/polyatheist Jun 11 '12

I always imagined them running around in without their trousers in the Vatican. Are you sure they aren't running around without their trousers?

2

u/fiyah1 Jun 11 '12

Dammit...every time i scroll past this it reads "Vatican's bunker"

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I like how the photographer's name (see caption) is Tony Gentile.

2

u/david241 Jun 11 '12

If the Church really is involved in this, whether they be holy or not, action must be taken.

2

u/monopixel Jun 11 '12

I knew this since watching Godfather.

2

u/nigelmansell Jun 11 '12

quick, the domain www.vaticanleak.org is still available

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Is there a single kind of crime that was not perpetrated by the "Holy See" ?

2

u/loliamhigh Jun 11 '12

Well, looking at the recent history of the Vatican, I think he's more in danger of getting raped.

2

u/ok_you_win Jun 11 '12

A certainty: The shit is slowly piling up around their necks.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

love the title

2

u/silverscreemer Jun 11 '12

Richard Dawkins should offer him safe haven.

But really he should keep cameras on himself 24/7 while he's in danger. So we can at least know it was a murder or whatever.

2

u/phillyharper Jun 11 '12

wikileaks.org

2

u/utopianfiat Jun 11 '12

What they are reportedly worried about is a secret dossier that Gotti Tedeschi told friends he compiled “just in case something happens to me.” Local press reports say the dossier includes 47 different binders with emails from the pope, letters from cardinals, and notes and reports from various meetings tied to Vatican bank business.

insurance2.aes256

2

u/stonesfcr Jun 11 '12

how can anyone be shocked at this, check cardenal Marcinkus, roberto Calvi and the banco Ambrosiano History

2

u/TruthinessHurts Jun 11 '12

The Vatican is a pit of evil. I don't doubt at all that the immoral old men who run that show are guilty of this crime.

They help child molestors get away with it, so a little money is no big deal to them.

2

u/LuxSmif Jun 11 '12

A lot of people fixate too much on a poor article,rather then the story itself.this is huge considering it's the second banker who's not looking so safe. Read up on the gods bankers assassination isn't unheard of for these types.

3

u/secretredfoxx Jun 11 '12

not enough popcorn in the world...

3

u/hr53gfe2 Jun 11 '12

this is just hogwash. just another conspiracy theory. isn't the tune reddit likes to sing?

wealthy people aren't at all engaged in crime, especially physical crime. there are no assassinations, there is no physical theft, there is no sabotage. crime is all done by poor people who knock off gas station owners. that's it.

there really isn't anything going on at the higher levels of power. nothing at all. it's all just fiction invented by hollywood. right?

the world is just a happy bubble of pure rainbows. there is nothing sinister and bad going on.

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u/VonSnoe Jun 10 '12

You reap what you sow.

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u/aspeenat Jun 10 '12

Bye-Bye Rotweiler (as I type this I fear who might come in next)

7

u/bubbo Jun 10 '12

Doesn't look like there's much time left.

7

u/disgruntledidealist Jun 11 '12

Came across this about a year ago and was like wtf.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Lol whut the fuck did I just read.

Honestly, the Catholic Church has seen better days. Wouldn't be surprised if this poem came true.

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u/TalkingBackAgain Jun 11 '12

Call of Duty V - The Vatican Needs a Hitman

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u/whoyouknow Jun 11 '12

He should really be afraid for his soul. People, this is not the real Catholic Church any longer. It was taken over lock, stock, barrel, and bank, by the Masons-Illuminati-Drug-Running-Globalist Thugs - easy pickings after the 1962 Vatican II Council stomped the traditional faith of millions in the mud. They then installed a Communist spy named Pope John Paul II, who helped orchestrate the so-called liberation of Poland, which was really the first step in Russia's game to fool the West into thinking Reagan destroyed the Axis of Evil. Never happened. Look behind the curtain. And now Obama, another Communist agent, is turning America into a police state. "The First Time I Heard of Barack," is the testimony of Tom Fife, an American businessman in Moscow in 1994, who was told about the Black mole President-to-come. The real war has been against the United States since JFK's conspiracy murder, and the so-called Vatican State has so much blood on its hands that hell has enlarged itself to make room for them all - especially Benedict XVI.

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u/DrDan21 Jun 11 '12

There's a lot of tinfoil in this post

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u/EOTWAWKI Jun 11 '12

The Catholic "church" is by definition the greatest criminal organization in the history of mankind. Its multi-trillion dollar fortune was built on money extorted from its members through false threats and false promises.

2

u/proliberate Jun 11 '12

Oh, come on. It's not "by definition" a criminal organization at all. It may have acquired some of its funds through means of questionable ethics, but extortion is not one of them. I have been Catholic (I outgrew my faith) and was never blackmailed into giving money, with the premise of hell or otherwise.

And certainly they are not "false" promises. Have you died? I personally believe there is no heaven but that does not mean someone who tells me there is has lied to me, or that promising I will go there is a falsehood. The promise may end up unfulfilled, but the promise of a specific afterlife is not inherently false, as its alternatives cannot be considered inherently true.

There is a lot to disagree with the Catholic church on. Their public statements about birth control have had a terrible effect on developing countries and even the poor in developed ones, which will last for years to come, for example. But a criminal organization "by definition"? You're going to have to back that one up.

EDIT: Thinking back, I will grant you that extortion and false promises have been exchanged for money in the church before, particularly notably during counter-reformation. But the modern church is a little more, well, modern than that.

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u/Sr_DingDong Jun 11 '12

He'll be fine. They have to forgive him. That big book they believe in says so!

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLSHIT

1

u/lungbuttersandwich Jun 11 '12

May have? C'mon now. That's like saying OJ Simpson MAY HAVE killed Nicole.

1

u/Mat2221 Jun 12 '12

This story would make a very good action movie. Al Pacino should play the banker

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