Vatican court hears secret recording of pope on hostage fees

By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican tribunal weighing a financial fraud case has heard from an unusual witness. A secret recording of Pope Francis was played Thursday to the court about the Holy See’s payments to free a nun held hostage by al-Qaida-linked militants. It marked a surreal new chapter in the trial. Vatican judges are trying to determine who, if anyone, is criminally responsible for losing tens of millions of euros in Holy See assets. Vatican prosecutors introduced the recording into evidence Thursday, saying it was part of a trove of material recently obtained from Italian financial police. The prosecutors said it came from a phone call between one of the defendants on trial, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, and the pope.