Vatican City, 29 April 2016 – Yesterday, Thursday 28 April, at 3.30 p.m. a further hearing was held in the ongoing trial for the dissemination of reserved information and documents in Vatican City State Tribunal, according to information provided by the director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. It was attended by the members of the Tribunal (Professors Giuseppe Dalla Torre, Piero Antonio Bonnet, Paolo Papanti-Pelletier and Venerando Marano), the Promoter of Justice (Professors Gian Pietro Milano and Roberto Zannotti), and the defendants Ángel Lucio Vallejo Balda, Francesca Immacolata Chaouqui and Nicola Maio, with their respective legal representatives Emanuela Bellardini, Laura Sgrò and Rita Claudia Baffioni. The defendants Emiliano Fittipaldi and Gianluigi Nuzzi were absent, but their legal representatives Lucia Teresa Musso and Roberto Palombi attended.

The hearing was dedicated fully to the examination of two witnesses, Paola Monaco and Paolo Pellegrino, who at the time of the events in question were secretary of the Cardinal Presiden and archivist of the Prefecture of Economic Affairs of the Holy See respectively. Both witnesses were interrogated by the members of the Tribunal, the Promoter of Justice and the counsels for the defence. Following the interrogations, the report of the examination was read and approved.

The hearing ended at approximately 8 p.m. The next hearing will take place on Saturday, May 7 at 9.30 a.m., with the possibility of continuing in the afternoon, and will be dedicated to further examination of witnesses.