Leaders of Sistine Chapel Choir Face Vatican Fraud Investigation

ROME — The leaders of the Sistine Chapel Choir have landed in the cross hairs of an investigation by Vatican prosecutors into possible money laundering, fraud and embezzlement. The Vatican announced that Pope Francis had authorized an “investigation into some economic-administrative aspects” of the choral ensemble, the world’s oldest. The targets of the investigation, the Rev. Massimo Palombella, choirmaster, and Michelangelo Nardella, administrative director, denied any wrongdoing through their lawyers. The investigation became public on Wednesday after the Vatican Insider, an online website affiliated with the Turin daily La Stampa, wrote that the two men were suspected of siphoning money from concert tours into an Italian bank account. The money was allegedly used for personal expenses, the website wrote. The investigation, which began “several months ago,” was still underway, the Vatican said in a statement. Reached by telephone, the Vatican’s chief prosecutor declined to comment.

The episode comes as the Vatican juggles scandals on various fronts: even as investigations of the clerical sexual abuse of minors continue to cross continents, Pope Francis has come under the personal attack of traditionalists and some conservatives who think he is destroying the church by eroding its laws. The Sistine Chapel Choir was founded over 1,500 years ago, and claims to be the world’s oldest singing ensemble. It consists of 20 adult professional singers, and 35 boys aged between 9 and 13, known as the Pueri Cantores, who attend a special school that combines an educational curriculum with music training. Pope Gregory the Great founded the school in the sixth century. The choir has several recordings with the Deutsche Grammophon label, and its website includes a map tracking its concerts worldwide. The choir’s much-hyped tour of several cities in the United States, scheduled for July, was abruptly canceled in June. Prosecutors took testimony from Mr. Nardella at the end of July, and from Father Palombella earlier this month. Neither has been indicted. Mr. Nardella’s lawyer, Laura Sgrò, said that all funds handled by her client “were used solely in favor of the Sistine Chapel Choir.” Mr. Nardella, she added, was “very grieved” by the investigation. “He wants his position to be clarified immediately,” she said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/world/europe/sistine-chapel-choir-vatican-fraud-investigation.html