VATICAN CITY
Deutsche Welle
The trial of several Italian journalists and Vatican officials has begun despite criticism from media rights groups. The five are on trial as part of the “Vatileaks 2” scandal revealing waste within the Holy See.
The five appeared before the court on Tuesday for obtaining and publishing secret documents showing widespread financial waste and fraud within the Vatican bureaucracy.
The journalists, Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi, face up to eight years in prison for publishing two books earlier this month based on confidential Vatican documents from a special reform commission established by Pope Francis to clean up waste in the Church.
While walking into the Vatican, the two reporters denied any wrongdoing, saying they had just done their duty as professionals.
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