Vatileaks II (2015): Vatican Officials Exposed for Living Like Kings While Preaching Poverty

The Church that demanded sacrifice from its followers was secretly drowning in luxury, waste, and greed.

By: Vatican Threads

When the Walls of Secrecy Crumbled Again

Just three years after the first wave of leaks shook the Vatican, a second storm hit in 2015. Dubbed “Vatileaks II”, this scandal revealed shocking evidence of lavish spending, financial cover-ups, and power-hungry cardinals living extravagantly while ordinary Catholics were urged to donate and “live humbly.”

This time, the documents exposed not just whispers of corruption, but hard numbers showing how Vatican leaders were bleeding charity funds dry for luxury lifestyles.

Luxury at the Expense of Faith

The leaked files, published by journalists Gianluigi Nuzzi (Merchants in the Temple) and Emiliano Fittipaldi (Avarice), painted a picture of staggering hypocrisy:

• Donations meant for the poor, especially Peter’s Pence, a fund collected from Catholics worldwide, were secretly diverted to cover the Vatican’s deficits.
• Senior officials were living in luxury apartments in Rome worth millions, while preaching simplicity from the pulpit.
• Tens of millions of euros were wasted on renovations, private parties, and questionable contracts.

As Reuters (2015) reported, auditors discovered “systemic mismanagement of resources” that the Vatican desperately tried to keep hidden.

Pope Francis vs. The Old Guard

By 2015, Pope Francis had started cracking down on Vatican finances, preaching reform and transparency. But the leaks showed just how badly entrenched corruption was. His efforts to clean house clashed with an elite network of cardinals who saw the Church’s billions as their personal piggy bank.

Francis himself admitted that the revelations caused him “great pain” and confirmed that “greed and ambition have infected the Curia.”

Journalists on Trial: Truth as a Crime

Instead of punishing the guilty officials, the Vatican launched a highly controversial trial against the two journalists and whistleblowers who exposed the truth. They were charged with publishing classified Vatican documents, a move widely condemned as an attack on press freedom.

The trial turned into a global embarrassment. The Guardian (2016) noted that the Vatican appeared “more concerned with silencing reporters than tackling the rot in its own ranks.”

The Numbers Don’t Lie

One of the most shocking figures from the leaks:

• Out of the €400 million raised annually for Peter’s Pence, only 20% actually reached the poor.
• The rest was used to patch up Vatican deficits, fund elite lifestyles, and cover shady investments.

This wasn’t charity; it was organized fraud under the cloak of holiness.

The Damage to Faith

For millions of Catholics worldwide, the scandal confirmed their worst fears: that donations meant for the needy were being swallowed by a black hole of corruption. Churches in Latin America and Africa, where poverty is rampant, saw trust in Rome collapse.

The Vatican’s image as a spiritual guide was once again overshadowed by greed, arrogance, and mafia-like secrecy.

Why Vatileaks II Matters

If Vatileaks I showed us betrayal at the top, Vatileaks II proved it wasn’t an accident, it was a system. A Church that demanded sacrifice from the faithful was using their money to bankroll its luxury, all while silencing those who dared to speak out.

It wasn’t just corruption. It was theft dressed as holiness.