The Vatican's dark secrets:
Scandals and intrigues overshadowed Benedict XVI's pontificate. His successor Pope Francis, who publicly denounces corruption and abuse of office, is also targeted.

The theft of papal secret documents by Benedict's valet was still fresh in memory when a new "Vatileaks" occurred under Pope Francis. Again, explosive documents from the Vatican were leaked to the media.

Intrigues and grievances inside the Catholic Church came to the public. Who could be interested in harming the Pope, and what role do financial management and the Vatican's IOR Bank, which has repeatedly been discredited, play? Francis demands more transparency, but that is exactly what some in the Curia are afraid of. "Carrying out reforms in Rome means brushing the sphinx in Egypt with a toothbrush," Christ's representative said in his Christmas address to the Cardinals of the Curia.

Scandals and dubious financial transactions keep the Holy See in need of explanation. Even with the sudden death of the "smiling Pope", John Paul I, after only 33 days in office, secrecy led to speculation about the real cause of death. The disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican citizen who has been missing for over 34 years, is hardly any different. Here too, the Vatican persists in silence.

Nevertheless, there is little doubt that the Holy See survives these scandals and intrigues, after all, they are not the first in its turbulent history. History shows how betrayals and conspiracies repeatedly shake the oldest power center in Europe.