Vatican Money Laundering Charges Pit Old World Against Modern

RedTracker| The charges of money laundering launched against the Vatican by The European Union may represent the ultimate example of the web of modernity — or secularism as Pope Benedict calls it — in conflict with the last absolute monarchy in the world.

With a focus on the Vatican’s role as head of Italy’s ruling class, the NYT also informs us of a 2003 ruling by Italy’s highest court that allowed Vatican officials to be tried on civil charges, in spite of its status as a sovereign state. To date, the US cases against the Vatican hit the wall on this legal argument.

In the case of the money laundering charges, the Vatican argues that it is above the law, because it handles money for religious organizations. The Bank of Italy disagrees. Read on In Bank Inquiry, Vatican Faces the Modern World.