Report: Vatican launches inquiry into hiring of PR

The Vatican has reportedly launched an inquiry into the hiring of Francesca Chaouqui, 30, who was appointed as PR officer for a new papal committee set up to overhaul the Vatican’s financial administration in July.

Before securing the job, Chaouqui had extensively tweeted about Vatican affairs, often not mincing her words, giving rise to speculation that she had access to some degree of confidential information.

In a tweet in March Chaouqui described the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, as corrupt and claimed that he was involved in dubious business deals with an unnamed company from the Veneto region.

In other messages she fuelled speculations over Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, saying he was seriously ill, and claimed that former Italian finance minister Giulio Tremonti was a homosexual.

After the tweets were republished in Italian media, her account was deleted.

She claimed that other people had access to her Twitter account and claimed that images of her tweets that had been circulating were fabricated.

“I’m not worried because the Holy Father is not worried,” she told Il Corriere della Sera newspaper.

She previously worked as management consultant with Ernst & Young in Rome.

Sources

International Business Times

The Wall Street Journal

NCR Online

Image: Facebook/IBN

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