ROME
AP News
By NICOLE WINFIELD
ROME (AP) — The most colorful protagonist in the Vatican’s leaks scandal — an ambitious, name-dropping communications consultant — has emerged from a bruising trial with a baby, a business and a book describing the behind-the-scenes drama of Pope Francis’ reform efforts.
“In the Name of Peter” hits Italian bookstores Tuesday, seven months after author Francesca Chaouqui received a 10-month suspended sentence for conspiring to pass confidential documents onto two journalists.
In an interview Monday, Chaouqui called the book her “testament of truth” and said she doesn’t fear a possible new Vatican trial for publishing confidential Holy See documents in her book.
“I’m ready to defend myself in Italy with all the strength that I have,” she told The Associated Press in an interview at a downtown Roman hotel. “I’m not the same person who went (to the Vatican) like an obedient puppy who they put on trial.”
Chaouqui was the lone woman on an eight-member papal reform commission tasked with compiling information about the Vatican’s vast financial holdings and recommending ways to improve efficiency and transparency.
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