Type of Content
Approved Story
1
Format
Region
News Item Format
Standard
Image Caption
Corbis
Community
Pope Francis was secretly recorded during a phone call with one of his former top cardinals discussing the Holy See’s payments to free a nun held hostage by al-Qaeda-linked militants in northern Africa.
In a shocking legal move, the recorded phone call between Pope Francis and Cardinal Angelo Becciu — one of 10 defendants in an ongoing embezzlement trial — was played before the Vatican court.
In the call, Becciu can be heard asking the Pope to confirm that he had authorized payments to free the nun, who was kidnapped in 2017. She was eventually released last year and met with the pope.
Journalists were asked to leave the courtroom before the tape was played because the recording had not yet been formally admitted into evidence, but a transcript from the Italian Financial Police was published by Italian news agency Adnkronos, CNN reported.