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

A leaked government report on a rushed reform of Tonga's education system in 2015 reveals confusion and concern within the Ministry and raises questions about the validity of the examination results.

It says because of the sudden changes to examination unit staff along with the repetitive transfer of the Chief Education Officer, the examination preparation operations were affected and the much-needed analysis was not performed.

Consequently, the TNFSC examination papers were not pre-standardised.

The official final examination results were released to heads of non-government schools and principals of government schools on Friday 15 January.

After the official release of the exam results, various flaws in the processing procedures were identified in the TFSC Physics, Visual Art, Geography and Fine Art results.

A total of 321 students from Form 5, 6, 7, have appealed their 2015 results (compared to 118 the previous year).

The report apparently upset the Prime Minister, Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva and it has not been officially released.

The report highlighted the involvement of the Prime Minister's son, Siaosi Pohiva and Piveni Piukala in the processing of the end of the year examination results for Tonga School Certificate (TSC), Tonga Form Six Certificate (TFSC) and Tonga National Form Seven Certificate (TNFSC).

Source

• matangitonga.to
• Image: h3.bp.blogspot.com

The trial of Msgr Angel Vallejo Balda, Francesca Jaouqui, Nicola Maio and journalists Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigu Nuzzi started with a 70-minute initial hearing.

Recently published books by the two journalists outline instances of past questionable Vatican spending and financial practices.

The books cite leaked documents.

Fittipardi said he chose to participate in the trial as a sign of respect, but was incredulous at the Vatican's move against himself and Nuzzi.

He said all he did was publish news.

The journalist added that such activity is "protected and guaranteed" by the Italian Constitution, the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Outside the trial, the International Association of Journalists Accredited at the Vatican issued a statement on Tuesday expressing "consternation and worry" that two journalists were being prosecuted for publishing leaked documents and essentially just doing their jobs.

The association stated " . . . the decision to try our two colleagues is not acceptable".

The Vatican is charging each of the five in the trial according to updates made to Vatican city-state law in July ,2013, alleging they each "illegally procured and successively revealed news and documents . . . ."

One of the four judges at the trial said that the issue was how the documents were obtained from inside the Vatican.

All five defendants are represented by lawyers belonging to the equivalent of a Vatican bar association.

The two journalists applied to be represented by their normal Italian lawyers, but this was denied by the Vatican court of appeals.

The full list of accusations and charges runs about 10 pages and has not been made public.

Nuzzi and Fittipardi said separately that they had received that list only on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

The trial resumes on November 30.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: National Catholic Reporter

Those indicted are Msgr Lucio Vallejo Balda, Francesca Chaouqui, Nicola Maio, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi.

Balda and Chaouqui were both chosen by Pope Francis to be members of a commission to reform Vatican finances.

Maio is an assistant to Balda, and Nuzzi and Fittipaldi are both journalists.

A trial is set to begin on November 24 and will be open to the press.

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A statement from Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, said the Vatican's police force had reported the activities of Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi to the city state's prosecutors.

This was over "their possible participation in the crime of dissemination of news and confidential documents".

Nuzzi and Fittipaldi published books last week which included documents relating to a 2013 commission (COSEA) set up by Pope Francis to overhaul Vatican finances.

There is an ongoing Vatican investigation into the leaks, with two individuals who sat on COSEA - Msgr Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda and Francesca Chaouqui - questioned over them.

In his statement, Fr Lombardi said the prosecutor had "acquired evidence indicating involvement in the offense by the two journalists who are now under investigation".

It continued: "They are being examined by the investigators as well as the positions of other persons, who by reasons associated with their office, cooperated in the acquisition of the confidential documents in question."

The leaks reveal embarrassing details of financial mismanagement which the Pope was faced with soon after his election.

Since that time, however, Francis has instituted sweeping reforms to the economic management of the Holy See.

Nuzzi and Fittipaldi are being investigated for a possible breach of Law n.IX of the Vatican's criminal code, a piece of legislation the Pope instituted in 2013.

It states: "Whoever illicitly obtains or reveals information or documents whose disclosure is forbidden, is punished with six months to two years imprisonment or with a fine ranging from €1,000 to €5,000".

"If the object of the offence consists of information or documents concerning the fundamental interests or the diplomatic relations of the Holy See or the State, the penalty shall be of four to eight years imprisonment.

"If the conduct referred to in the preceding paragraph is committed due to criminal negligence, the penalty shall be of six months to two years imprisonment."

Sources

• The Tablet
• Image: Crux Now

Despite the documents appearing to have different levels of importance, Lombardi described the situation as "very sad".

He called on the press to "make careful distinctions," to not "just throw everything together" nor allow the reality of the situation to be "swallowed up in a whirlpool of confusion."

Reuters' is labeling the events as "monsignors' mutiny", and reports that almost daily embarrassments have put the Vatican on the defensive at a time when the Church faces a crisis of authority and relevance in the wider world.

"It is a total mess" said another high-ranking Vatican official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The leaks include

• letters by an archbishop who was transferred after he blew the whistle on what he saw as a web of corruption and cronyism
• a poison pen memo which put a number of cardinals in bad light
• new suspicions about the Vatican Bank
• a cardinal complaining about another cardinal who spoke of an assassination attempt against the pope
• a memo from the cardinal in charge of financial oversight warning that a new law against money-laundering could be seen as a "step back" from reform, potentially creating "alarm" in the international community and among regulatory agencies.

Reuters believes the leaks are part of a campaign against the Vatican Secretary of State, and the pope's right hand man, Cartinal Bertone.

Bertone's reputation is one of a 'heavy-handed' power-broker who has alienated the Vatican's bureacuracy.

The job, traditionally occupied by a career diplomat, Bertone came to office with no diplomatic experience, rather being known to the pope by working under him when the pontiff was head of the powerful Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The embarrassing leaks have come at what is normally a joyful week when the pope admits more men into the College of Cardinals, the group who will eventually select his successor.

Sources

• Vatican Information Service
• Reuters
• NCR
• Image: The Deacon's Bench