For the curia workers, because they had to anticipate, the new "gift" of a renewed chastisement from the Pope for Christmas. But also for Pope Francis, because on the same morning the weekly magazine L'Espresso (comparable to the Spiegel/Time Magazine) with a dossier of one of the closest pope confidants and personal friends, the Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, this was anything but good.
While Francis did in the Sala Clementina, that which the Curials had already feared - bludgeoning them for the fifth year in a row, talking about "traitors," "intrigues," "disloyalty," and "cancerous ulcers," was one of his own closest advisers in the spotlight of a "new scandal", as L'Espresso wrote.
The weekly magazine revealed that Cardinal Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa in Honduras, was president of Caritas International and co-ordinator of the C9 Cardinal Council wanted by Francis in Rome, to make extra payments to his official remuneration.
600,000 extra and the "disappeared" millions
As archbishop, he is automatically also the Grand Chancellor of the local Catholic University. As such, Maradiaga had to pay nearly $ 600,000 annually from the university in recent years. More than 41,000 dollars or the equivalent of 35,000 euros flowed additionally monthly in return for nothing in Maradiagas pockets. In the month of December, he even paid himself out more than $ 60,000 as a Christmas bonus. Whoever can will. Maradiaga could because he is in the requisite power position.
The matter is generally extremely unpleasant for Pope Francis, who is particularly concerned about his own image. The thing is very dire because, since the beginning of the pontificate of Francis, Maradiaga has not only acted as a kind of vice-pope, especially in Latin America, but is also one of the most vociferous advocates of a "poor Church for the poor." At the same time he maintained a link to the restless globalist US multi-billionaire George Soros.
Maradiaga's pauperism has turned out to be a mere frippery with the L'Espresso piece. An action of the Pope was unavoidable with his Christmas scolding of the curia and the Maradiaga dossier.
Pope orders investigations - Cardinal Maradiaga not mentioned
As Vatican spokesman Greg Burke announced on the 24th of December, Pope Francis had "personally" arranged investigations into "alleged irregularities in the Archdiocese of Tegucigalpa," said EFE [A Spanish international news agency created in 1939 by Spain's former minister of the press and propaganda Ramón Serrano Súñer and Manuel Aznar Zubigaray].
Burke did not make a direct connection with Maradiaga. According to L'Espresso, the "irregularities" do not concern the extra payments made to the Cardinal, but rather "conspicuous" millions of euros in money transfer, for which the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese, Juan Jose Pineda, is responsible.
It was also unequivocally implied that Pineda could hardly effect the money transfers without the knowledge of Cardinal Maradiaga. This was probably even done on his behalf. They are related to London financial services providers, including Leman Wealth Management. The millions were deposited in German banks. Part of the money should now be "gone".
According to Vatican spokesman Greg Burke, the Pope has given the order to go in search of the money.
Cardinal Maradiaga positioned himself last spring as a potential successor to Pope Francis. This should be, as much as can be foreseen at least now, no longer the case.