"We thought that Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II), as he had promised, would have sorted out the Vatican finances after the scandal of Cardinal Marcinkus and the IOR (the pope's bank).

"But during the 80s and 90s, the whole system of shady deals and bribes was inherited by Marcinkus's successors and became increasingly dishonest and cynical. The pope knew about it, but did nothing to remove the heads of this power network.

"The book, Vaticano Spa, steps inside the sacred palaces and uncovers secrets thanks to the huge archive bequeathed by monsignor Renato Dardozzi, who was summoned to join the 'perestroika' working on the Holy See's finances. My inquiry, which has the merit of not being anti-clerical, was considered the best selling non-fiction title in Italy for 2009 by the American Nielsen ratings.

"But, owing to some form of self-censorship, the television networks have ignored it, possibly because the church still inspires unconditional obsequiousness and fearful reverence. A lost opportunity because this is the first time that the most reserved documents from the pope's bank have been made available."