Chaouqui, a former member of an economic reform commission established by Pope Francis, is accused of conspiring with Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda to leak documents.

Vallejo Balda, who had sat on a top level papal commission overhauling the Holy See's finances, admitted giving confidential financial documents to journalists.

But he said he did so under duress having been effectively blackmailed by his female colleague.

Chaouqui, who is married, has categorically denied having sex with the cleric.

She implied that Vallejo Balda had confided in her about a previous gay encounter or relationship.

"He told me something in confidence, something he said only I knew," she wrote.

Chaouqui said the cleric's claims against her had made her decide to reveal what he had told her in court.

The prosecution claimed during the last court session on Tuesday that Chaouqui had sent the Spanish priest a WhatsApp message in which she warned: "I will destroy you in the press and you know I can do it."

He has also claimed that she led him to believe she had links to the Italian secret services and contacts with the mafia and powerful politicians.

The Holy See has been pursuing the prosecution of two investigative journalists, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, who have published books based on leaked documents.

Sources

AFP/Yahoo
Daily Mail
NanoNews
Image: AFP/Daily Mail