VATICAN CITY (AP) — A criminal investigation into a Vatican real estate investment is exposing weaknesses in the city state’s judicial system and its limited protections for those accused. That’s highlighting the incompatibility of the Holy See’s procedures with European norms. The Vatican has never been a democracy, but the incongruity of a government that is a moral authority on the global stage and yet an absolute monarchy is becoming increasingly evident. One longtime papal adviser quit all his Holy See consulting roles to protest what he considered grave human rights violations in the probe of the 350 million-euro London real estate investment. Vatican prosecutors say the rights of the accused are being protected.
Probe highlights Vatican legal system’s limited protections
