THE archbishop of Naples and his lawyer on Monday defended the prelate's record at the head of a powerful Church body after he was placed under investigation for corruption by Italian prosecutors. 'I did everything with the maximum transparency,' Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe told a press conference in the southern city of Naples, adding that the Vatican approved all of the balance sheets involved in the probe and congratulated him for his management.
'It will be an easy defence, since it seems to me there is nothing, absolutely nothing, criminal in his behaviour,' lawyer Bruno Von Arx told reporters on Italian television.
Prosecutors in Perugia, central Italy, are investigating allegations that Sepe accepted kickbacks when in 2001-2006 he was head of Propaganda Fide, the body which manages funds for the Catholic Church's missionary work and also the Vatican's vast real estate holdings, especially in Rome.
Sepe allegedly sold a building at a favourable price to Italy's then infrastructure minister, Pietro Lunardi.
The building was then renovated by Rome construction magnate Diego Anemome, who is under investigation by prosecutors over several public tenders, including infrastructure for the Group of Eight summit in Italy last year.
'I always acted according to my conscience, with the good of the Church as my sole goal,' Sepe said, reading from a letter.
Mr Von Arx said prosecutors could hear Sepe this coming week, adding that the Vatican will 'make use of the prerogatives recognised by our code, since we are dealing with a prelate of such high rank,' Mr Von Arx said.
Legal relations between Italy and the Vatican are regulated by the Lateran Pacts, a special treaty signed in 1929.SIC: ST