Vatican 'bans' book revealing 'secret' of pope
By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Writing in The Telegraph 20/03/2008
Two bestselling authors have accused the Vatican of blacklisting them in Italy after they discovered secret documents that suggest that a pope had funded William of Orange, a Protestant hero.
William III of Orange (right) allegedly received 'huge sums' from the pope
By Malcolm Moore in Rome
Writing in The Telegraph 20/03/2008
Two bestselling authors have accused the Vatican of blacklisting them in Italy after they discovered secret documents that suggest that a pope had funded William of Orange, a Protestant hero.
William III of Orange (right) allegedly received 'huge sums' from the pope
Rita Monaldi and her husband Francesco Sorti have sold more than a million copies of their historical novel Imprimatur across Europe. The novel, which will be published in Britain in May, tells the story of Atto Melani, an Italian castrato and spy at the court of Louis XIV of France in the 17th century. However, Imprimatur was dropped by Mondadori, its Italian publisher, after the first print run of 15,000 copies, despite reaching number four on the bestseller list on its release in 2002. Mr Sorti said Mondadori decided not to reprint the book because of pressure from the Vatican.
"The book sold out immediately, and then people started to contact us to say that they wanted to buy a copy, but could not find it," said Mr Sorti.
"We contacted Mondadori, and they said they would reprint it, but nothing ever happened."
The authors said the problems arose because they found documents in both the Vatican Secret Archive and the Italian State Archives which suggest that William of Orange was receiving huge sums of money from Rome.
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In 1672, Louis had occupied the Netherlands. William led the resistance and, allied with Catholic Spain and Austria, drove out the French.
William, who became King of Britain in 1689, has been revered in Ulster for centuries for his "Glorious Revolution", which drove James II, a Roman Catholic, from the throne.
He gives his name to the loyalist Orange Order.
Mr Sorti and Ms Monaldi said they found documents from a papal envoy discussing the "large sums" that William owed Pope Innocent XI.
Corresponding documents from Innocent's family records show that the Holy See sent 150,000 scudi to William via an intermediary. The sum, equivalent to more than £3.5 million today, equalled the Vatican's annual budget deficit.
"When we found the documents we had already started to write the book, but we decided to include the discovery as part of the storyline," said Ms Monaldi.
However, the revelation that Innocent was supporting a heretic and enemy of the Church embarrassed the Holy See and was seen as an impediment to Innocent's path to sainthood.
The Vatican began the canonisation process in 2002, at roughly the same time as the book was published. When the book came out, it was strongly criticised by leading Catholics and by the media.
Since then, Mr Sorti said he and his wife had been forced to leave Italy and settle in Vienna. "There has been real hysteria over it. People told us we were criminals," he said.
He added that a media black-out had descended in Italy. "There is a type of auto-censorship in Italy. When people know that a subject is risky, they avoid it at all costs," he said.
"Evidently we managed to upset someone senior in the Vatican, we do not know who, and after that no one would deal with us," he said. Even the priest who married the couple was suddenly transferred, with no explanation, to a tiny parish in Romania.
A journalist from Rai, the state broadcaster, who asked not to be named, said that the book had become "a taboo".
A Vatican spokesman said: "I have never heard of these authors, or of this book. It seems strange that they would accuse us of a conspiracy. Certainly, if their historical novel has managed to sell 15,000 copies in Italy, they should be happy. This is a good figure for that type of book."
Mondadori, which is owned by Silvio Berlusconi, refused to comment.
"The book sold out immediately, and then people started to contact us to say that they wanted to buy a copy, but could not find it," said Mr Sorti.
"We contacted Mondadori, and they said they would reprint it, but nothing ever happened."
The authors said the problems arose because they found documents in both the Vatican Secret Archive and the Italian State Archives which suggest that William of Orange was receiving huge sums of money from Rome.
advertisement
In 1672, Louis had occupied the Netherlands. William led the resistance and, allied with Catholic Spain and Austria, drove out the French.
William, who became King of Britain in 1689, has been revered in Ulster for centuries for his "Glorious Revolution", which drove James II, a Roman Catholic, from the throne.
He gives his name to the loyalist Orange Order.
Mr Sorti and Ms Monaldi said they found documents from a papal envoy discussing the "large sums" that William owed Pope Innocent XI.
Corresponding documents from Innocent's family records show that the Holy See sent 150,000 scudi to William via an intermediary. The sum, equivalent to more than £3.5 million today, equalled the Vatican's annual budget deficit.
"When we found the documents we had already started to write the book, but we decided to include the discovery as part of the storyline," said Ms Monaldi.
However, the revelation that Innocent was supporting a heretic and enemy of the Church embarrassed the Holy See and was seen as an impediment to Innocent's path to sainthood.
The Vatican began the canonisation process in 2002, at roughly the same time as the book was published. When the book came out, it was strongly criticised by leading Catholics and by the media.
Since then, Mr Sorti said he and his wife had been forced to leave Italy and settle in Vienna. "There has been real hysteria over it. People told us we were criminals," he said.
He added that a media black-out had descended in Italy. "There is a type of auto-censorship in Italy. When people know that a subject is risky, they avoid it at all costs," he said.
"Evidently we managed to upset someone senior in the Vatican, we do not know who, and after that no one would deal with us," he said. Even the priest who married the couple was suddenly transferred, with no explanation, to a tiny parish in Romania.
A journalist from Rai, the state broadcaster, who asked not to be named, said that the book had become "a taboo".
A Vatican spokesman said: "I have never heard of these authors, or of this book. It seems strange that they would accuse us of a conspiracy. Certainly, if their historical novel has managed to sell 15,000 copies in Italy, they should be happy. This is a good figure for that type of book."
Mondadori, which is owned by Silvio Berlusconi, refused to comment.
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