Angela Salvatore had been away from her father's hospital bedside for just over an hour when she says she got a frantic call from a nurse, pleading with her to calm him down.
2nd Vatican official says pope OK'd ransom payments for nun
A second high-ranking Holy See official told a Vatican court on Friday that Pope Francis had authorized spending hundreds of thousands of euros in ransom payments to try to free a nun who was kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali.
Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, the Holy See's No. 3, told the Vatican tribunal that he had sought, and received Francis' approval to wire the money soon after he took up his duties as the "substitute" in the secretariat of state in late 2018.
Pena Parra was answering questions for a second day Friday after being called by defence attorneys representing the 10 people on trial for a host of alleged financial crimes.
One tangent of the Vatican trial concerns 575,000 euros wired from the Vatican's Swiss Bank account to a Slovenian-based front company owned by Cecilia Marogna, a self-styled security analyst who was hired in 2016 by Pena Parra's predecessor, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, as an outside consultant.
Becciu told the court last year that he had sought Marogna's advice in 2017 following the kidnapping of Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez by al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which has bankrolled its insurgency by kidnapping Westerners. During her captivity in Mali, the group periodically showed Narvaez on video asking for the Vatican's help.
Becciu told the court that Francis had authorized spending up to 1 million euros to free the Colombian nun. Becciu said he and Marogna had travelled to London to meet with, and subsequently hire, the British security firm Inkerman to find Narvaez and secure her freedom. She was ultimately released in October 2021.
In their indictment request, prosecutors alleged a double payment: They said some 500,000 British pounds, or the then-equivalent of 575,000 euros, had been sent to Inkerman's Barklays Bank account for the operation. Separately, they listed nine payments from the Vatican's Swiss Bank account totaling 575,000 euros sent to Marogna's Logsic DOO company from Dec. 20, 2018 to July 8, 2019. Citing Slovenian bank records, prosecutors allege that Marogna used the money to buy high-end luxury items and go on vacation.
Both Becciu and Marogna are accused of embezzlement, charges they both deny.
Pena Parra, who replaced Becciu as "substitute," told the court that he was confronted with the request for payment to the Slovenian account by his deputy, Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, who had been asked by Becciu to process the wire transfer. But Pena Parra said he couldn't proceed without first securing the pope's approval.
"I went to the pope. I asked for an audience and the Holy Father confirmed to me the destination of this money, which was for the question of the possible freedom of the Colombian nun kidnapped in Mali," Pena Parra said under questioning by the tribunal president, Judge Giuseppe Pignatone.
Becciu, for his part, insisted in a spontaneous declaration to the court on Friday that Francis had approved the operation and was prepared to write a statement for Becciu's defense to that effect when they spoke by telephone on July 19, 2021, days before the trial opened.
Prosecutors recently produced an exchange of letters between Becciu and Francis in the following days in which Francis refused to provide the statement. Becciu produced a letter Friday indicating Francis himself had asked Becciu to provide a draft statement, and the cardinal suggested that his subsequent refusal to sign off on it appeared to have been coached.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A veteran Ottawa journalist is firing back against what he says are "entirely false" claims by a former Conservative cabinet minister that he acted as a Russian agent.
Trump says he's open to eliminating income taxes as he pushes sweeping tariff proposals on podcast with Joe Rogan
Former U.S. president Donald Trump said on Joe Rogan鈥檚 podcast Friday that he would be open to eliminating income taxes, while pushing his sweeping tariff proposal and praising the economic policies of the late 19th century.
Frozen waffles from Whole Foods join Canadian recall list over listeria concerns
Whole Foods Market is joining the growing list of brands whose frozen waffles have been recalled in Canada this week because of possible listeria contamination.
Canadian Ryan James Wedding finished in 24th place in the parallel giant slalom at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, but the snowboarder wouldn鈥檛 go on to improve his results in Torino four years later.
The mystery of a 100-year-old letter sent from Manitoba to Ireland is slowly unraveling thanks to the work of one amateur sleuth.
How will the U.S. election affect the way Canadians vote?
As months, become weeks, become days left before this U.S. election cycle comes to an end, here's a look at what each outcome might mean for Canadian politics.
She connected on Instagram with a guy who lived in another country. Then they decided to meet up
In early 2018, Amanda and Sunil started chatting, messaging back and forth on Instagram, introducing themselves and talking a little about their lives. Fast forward to August 2018, the couple got engaged on vacation in Thailand and a year later, after Amanda moved to India, got married.
Here's what buyers should know before making a used car purchase in Canada
Based on initial appearances, there are signs indicating the automobile industry is in healthy shape 鈥 for now.
Local Spotlight
A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.
Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.
He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.
A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.
Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.
A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.
A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.
A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.
Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.