"With its black masses, illicit weddings, bribery and sexual impropriety; a kiss-and-tell exposé of the Vatican has gripped all Italy and shocked Catholics everywhere. Until recently, the identity of its author has remained a mystery. But now the Monsignor who broke ranks is feeling the full force of Papal wrath. And he's not going quietly…"

"Not surprisingly, no one in the Vatican is prepared to comment on the record of this controversial work. Marinelli's key accusations are: rampant careerism; a secretive method of electing bishops and cardinals; infiltration of Freemasons into the higher echelons of the Vatican; and a lack of any organisation to defend priests or other Vatican employees against injustices from their superiors. The sexual shenanigans, Marinelli says 'were included only to illustrate the main principles'. He can't resist adding that the authors left out many exploits, and failed to elaborate on salacious details.

"Inevitably it is the mention of sex and money that has attracted most attention in a book about the world headquarters of the Catholic Church. […]

"Last year, a member of the Pope's personal army, the Swiss Guards, shot his commander and the commander's wife, before turning the pistol on himself. The Vatican inquiry concluded that the killer was angry at being passed over for promotion, while newspapers reported that he was a spy for the East German Stasi, or was involved in a love triangle.

"The colossal scandals involving the Vatican Bank, the IOR, dating back to the Eighties, have not been forgotten. Under the direction of Cardinal Paul Marcinkus, the bank made deals with some of Italy's dodgiest financiers, including Michele Sindona, who had close ties with the Sicilian mafia, and Roberto Calvi, president of Italy's biggest private bank, the Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed shortly after Calvi was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge.

"There have been more recent cases of financial scandal among men of the cloth. The archbishop of Naples, Michele Giordano, was placed under investigation last year by Italian magistrates for alleged involvement in money-lending and using diocesan funds to finance his family businesses. There is also evidence of nepotism; Cardinal Giordano's relatives were awarded lucrative contracts with the diocese. Just last month two Rome-based priests, An American and an Italian, were caught up in a $300m insurance scam. They were reportedly used as a front by fraudster Martin Frankel, currently the FBI's most wanted man."