Francesca Chaouqui said this during testimony at the trial of five defendants, including herself, at the Vatican.

Ms Chaouqui, a public relations expert who used to work at the Vatican, wrote further about the matter on her Facebook page.

She was writing about Italian Archbishop Angelo Giovanni Becciu, the number two official at the Vatican's Secretariat of State.

Ms Chaouqui wrote that the archbishop has staked his credibility on her going to prison, so she'll be "condemned without evidence".

She also wrote that she's "not afraid of four feet of pure evil", in reference to Archbishop Becciu's diminutive height, and that she stands by her accusations.

Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, stated in response: "It has become necessary — without desiring in any way to condition the action of the Court — to deny, in a most absolute way, such accusations and to state that, since they are calumnious affirmations, they are absolutely unacceptable, and subject to legal action".

Ms Chauoqui responded on Facebook that "the calumny and unacceptable thing is what the Vatican, in the figure of the substitute, is doing against me".

Archbishop Becciu's post is referred to as the "substitute" because he acts on behalf of the Cardinal Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Ms Chaouqui wrote of a "dossier of lies" about her which, she stated, Archbishop Becciu received when she was hired by the Vatican three years ago.

She claimed the dossier was leaked to the press by the archbishop.

She also claimed Archbishop Becciu repeatedly called investigators during the questioning of her after her initial arrest nine months ago.

Last week, a police witness told the Vatican tribunal that, during questioning, Ms Chaouqui had admitted leaking confidential documents.

Ms Chaouqui, who is nine months pregnant, subsequently insisted she was not involved in leaking the documents.

Sources

• Crux
• Catholic World News
• Image: Crux

Although he turns 75 next month, the cardinal plans to continue in his current post until 2019.

This was confirmed in a statement his office released late last month.

A Crux article reported that, according to the cardinal's office, "Pope Francis had confirmed the Australian prelate as the Vatican's top financial official until at least 2019".

Cardinal Pell is currently in the middle of what some commentators are seeing as a power struggle between departments in the Roman Curia.

An external audit of the Vatican's finances by PricewaterhouseCoopers was suspended last month by a senior official at the Holy See's Secretariat of State, Archbishop Angelo Becciu.

Problems with the firm's contract were cited, including the fact that Cardinal Pell was one of the signatories, The Tablet reported.

This assertion was challenged by the cardinal who said the PwC agreement was agreed by the Council for the Economy, the body led by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx which also oversees Cardinal Pell's department.

According to statement from Cardinal Pell's office, "it is also interesting to note so called ‘concerns' about the PwC audit and contract were only raised when auditors began asking for certain financial information and were finding it difficult to get answers".

A communique from the Holy See released last Tuesday said there were issues with "the meaning and scope of certain clauses" and "methods of implementation" with the PwC deal.

Last week, Pope Francis paid a visit to Cardinal Pell's department.

In its statement, Pell's office said the Pope spent an hour with the secretariat's team during which he took part "in a friendly and lively discussion".

It added that Francis "repeated the need for outside or external professional inclusion and assistance".

Sources

• The Tablet
• Vatican Insider
• Statement from Cardinal Pell's office
• Crux
• Image: Crux