Vatican staffers who have been leaking embarrassing letters about corruption and nepotism inside the tiny city state are to be hunted down by a crack squad of cardinals led by a senior member of the religious group Opus Dei.
Irritated by the anonymous release of documents to the press this year, Pope Benedict has named Cardinal Julian Herranz, 82, to lead a three-man team which will haul in staffers for questioning and rifle through files until they catch the perpetrators of what has been dubbed "Vatileaks".
A short statement printed on Thursday on the front page of the Vatican's daily newspaper warned the team had a full "pontifical mandate" to "shed complete light" on the whistle blowers, who have lifted the lid on alleged theft and false accounting.
Herranz was a long-time personal secretary to Josemaría Escrivá , the now canonised founder of Opus Dei, which has been accused of excessive secrecy, strict control over members and undue influence within the Vatican – a reputation pushed by Dan Brown's thriller The Da Vinci Code.
One of two cardinals who are members of the group, Herranz has insisted that Opus Dei has "no hidden agenda" and is only interested in the "the message of Christ", but he does appear to be cut out to be a Vatican troubleshooter, once stating that "men need to act decisively, like Jesus Christ – who was a real man".
Read more here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/26/pope-opus-dei-vatican-leaks?newsfeed=true
