Vatican Website Back Online after Hacker Attack

WHEC
March 8, 2012

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2529011.shtml?cat=566

Members of the amorphous hacking group Anonymous claim they took down the Vatican's website to protest everything from Catholic doctrine to the sexual abuse of children.

The site - www.vatican.va - was inaccessible for much of Wednesday afternoon and evening before technicians got it back online.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, confirmed the attack but declined to comment on its possible source.

In what claims to be the "official" site of Anonymous in Italy, a statement posted Wednesday said the group was attacking the Vatican to protest the execution of heretics and the burning of books during the Inquisition and more recently the sexual abuse of children by priests.

Statements purportedly authored by members of Anonymous are almost impossible to verify, given the leaderless nature of the group.