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Two journalists and three former Vatican officials have been formally charged with "criminal misappropriation" and other crimes, the Vatican says, in a case tied to allegations of financial misdeeds by Catholic Church officials.

Those arrested include Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda and Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, who served on a special Vatican commission on economic reform that was assembled by Pope Francis shortly after he was elected in 2013.

 earlier this month; Chaouqui was released after a brief detention, due to her cooperation with the authorities.


Also facing charges are Vallejo's secretary, Nicola Maio, as well as Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi — two journalists who published books this month that promise a rare glimpse into scandals and corruption in the Roman Catholic Church.

is currently No. 3 on the list of bestsellers on 

Nuzzi was also involved in the original "Vatileaks" scandal of 2012, when he published a book containing private Vatican documents and letters. Some say that scandal contributed to Pope Benedict's resignation.


In the current case, the reporters and Vatican officials formed an "organized crime association," according to the 

Investigators believe Nuzzi and Fittipaldi "solicited and exerted pressure, especially on Vallejo Balda," the Vatican says.


Speaking to Italian media, Fittipaldi says (according to 

 reported, "those convicted of unlawfully leaking private documents can face imprisonment from six months to two years or face fines from 1000 euro to 5000 euro."
An initial hearing in the case has been set for Tuesday, Nov. 24, in the Vatican's criminal court.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Those arrested include Spanish Monsignor Lucio Vallejo Balda and Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui, who served on the pope's special commission on economic reform.

Vatican charges 5 over leaked documents, alleging 'organized crime'

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