Photo ~ Pope Benedict XVI prays in front of the nativity in St.Peter's Square in 2009 which cost the Vatican about 550,000 euros ($720,000)

Vatican denies free Christmas crib linked to corruption scandal
The Vatican said on Thursday there was no link between its decision to accept the gift of a nativity scene in St Peter's Square and allegations that it had previously paid inflated prices to have them built.

This year's larger-than-life Christmas tableau depicting the biblical scene of Jesus' birth, worth about 90,000 euros ($120,000), was donated by the southern region of Basilicata, one of Italy's poorest.

Some of the documents that sparked this year's 'Vatileaks' scandal indicated that in 2009 the Vatican paid an Italian company six times that amount, about 550,000 euros ($720,000), to build its nativity scene in the square.

The letters, leaked to the media, mentioned the payment as an example of corruption in the city state's business dealings.

In the leaked documents, Sciacca's predecessor, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, said the exorbitant cost of the 2009 crib was an example of how the Vatican was losing money through corruption.

Vigano said he had managed almost to halve the cost of the 2010 crib. He was subsequently transferred to the United States, despite an appeal to his superiors to be allowed stay in his job, in what he saw as punishment for doing his work too well.

Reuters

Mail Online