New arrest following ‘wind of change’ at Vatican

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Pope Benedict XVI (back-C) speaks as a bishop holds a tablet during a meeting with the bishops taking part in the plenary session of the Italian episcopal conference on May 24, 2012 at The Vatican . AFP photo

A person in "illegal possession of confidential documents" has been arrested in the Vatican and "been put under surveillance," according to Federico Lombardi, the Vatican's official spokesperson.

The declaration does not specify who the person is, nor does it say when the incident occurred.

Italian press has reported that it might be the majordomo (butler) of the pope's apartments but doubts remain.

This announcement comes following the suspension of the president of the Institute for Works of Religion (IWR), commonly known as The Vatican Bank.

Appointed less than three years ago to assure the transparence concerning the financial affairs of the Vatican, the president of the "Pope's Bank,” Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was forced to abdicate his responsibilities on May 24, according to Le Monde, "due to a unanimous vote of the council over his defective management skills.”

This "forced resignation" is said to be due to conflicts and diverging points of views at the heart of the Vatican administration over the methods of satisfying the requirements of the European authorities concerning the fight against money laundering.

This resignation might be interpreted, according to Le Monde, as a new step in the apparent desire by Pope Benedict XVI for a "purification and renewal" of the rule of the church, but the latest "episodes of embarrassment" have proven the fragility and the difficulty the pope is facing in imposing his views concerning the management of confidential and sensitive documents during his pontificate.