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Vatican City – Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui is under investigation by the Office of the Promoter of Justice of the Vatican City State, led by Alessandro Diddi. The charges are serious: subornation of a witness and influence peddling. These two counts reignite the spotlight on one of the most controversial figures of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s pontificate.

It’s no secret that Francesca Chaouqui began frequenting the Vatican thanks to her connection with Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, but it was only in 2013 that Pope Francis decided to give her an official position, appointing her to the Pontifical Commission for Reference on the Organisation of the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See. A gesture of trust that soon turned out to be a spectacular own goal.

Her extremely serious actions against the Pope — culminating in the unauthorised publication of confidential documents — led to a trial in which she was found guilty and declared persona non grata within the Vatican City State (person who cannot access the State).

And yet, the warning signs were all there: back in 2012, a tweet of hers claimed that the Pope (then Benedict XVI) was suffering from leukaemia, and numerous compromising photographs — already circulating at the time — should have prompted greater caution. Nevertheless, Francis chose to ignore the red flags: the result was that the commission’s documents ended up in the hands of tabloid journalists who simply photocopied hundreds of confidential papers and handed them to the press. A grand editorial operation indeed!

On 22 December 2016, Chaouqui received a final conviction — one that was never appealed, as it was thoroughly justified and, if anything, excessively lenient. Since then, Chaouqui has repeatedly requested a pardon, always denied by Francis. Still, she never gave up, continually boasting of connections and influence. Just recall her ties with Stefano De Santis, a Commissioner of the Vatican Gendarmerie, with whom she established contact while imprisoned.

At the start of the Sloane Avenue trial, Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui did everything she could to draw media attention to herself, with an almost desperate level of activism. It is surprising — or perhaps not — that despite her past, she continued to receive attention from a certain segment of the press: the kind made up of tabloid hacks unable to write an article without blunders or without stuffing it full of entirely fabricated “behind-the-scenes” narratives.

In recent months, compromising messages and audio recordings have come to light, exchanged between Chaouqui, De Santis, and Genevieve Ciferri, the latter of whom later forwarded them to Alessandro Diddi. The messages paint a disturbing picture: Chaouqui anticipated the moves of the Promoter of Justice and was privy to developments in the trial — particularly the case against Cardinal Angelo Becciu — before they occurred. A trial in which Becciu was attacked, including by Diddi himself, without any regard for his episcopal dignity.

The first to break the news of the investigation into Chaouqui was Maria Antonietta Calabrò, widely described as Diddi’s “spokeswoman”. A journalist long involved in a systematic media campaign against Cardinal Becciu, Calabrò is known for relentlessly promoting a book that amounts to little more than a copy-paste of what was directly relayed to her by Diddi. Her position is blatantly aligned with the Promoter of Justice — a detail that further undermines her already shaky credibility.

As if that weren’t enough, Diddi took part in the presentation of Calabrò’s book — a volume concerning one of the very defendants he had prosecuted. A scene unworthy even of the Italian judiciary, often criticised for excessive media exposure. During that very event, some journalists approached Diddi with questions, and he made several claims that were later proven false.

Diddi — who has never obtained formal training in canon law or Vatican law — has always conducted himself with arrogance and bravado. Both in the Becciu trial and in other cases, where he interrogated employees who were illegally detained. His résumé contains no trace of the specific qualifications required to operate within the Vatican City State. And yet, he leads the office that is supposed to represent the Pope’s State’s sense of balance and justice.

During the Sloane Avenue trial, when the chats between Chaouqui and De Santis were revealed, Diddi withheld the messages, preventing the defence teams from accessing them — a serious abuse of power. He claimed he had opened a file on the matter, but now — much later — it turns out that the investigation into Chaouqui only just began, proving that he lied on that front as well.

The question, then, arises naturally: who is investigating all this? Diddi himself? The same Diddi involved in these events? It is a paradoxical situation, straight out of North Korea, where the one who should be impartial is actually part of the problem. It is urgent that Alessandro Diddi resign immediately, and that the investigation be handed over to impartial third parties, capable of establishing both criminal and disciplinary responsibilities — which likely extend to him as well.

One thing is certain: an investigation led by Alessandro Diddi cannot hold any credibility whatsoever. He is a Roman lawyer currently under investigation by the public prosecutor’s office for walking out of a courtroom in Calabria while representing defendants. Now, with this media stunt, he seems eager to impress Pope Leo XIV, who must decide both on his future and on that of Stefano De Santis, who has vanished from the papal entourage — he no longer even drives the Pope’s car.

The wind has changed.
And some people are afraid of losing their positions.

d.R.S.
Silere non possum