The Vatican has been accused of actively suppressing information to ensure that a close ally of Pope Francis was not implicated in the cover-up of the sexual and financial misdeeds of his auxiliary bishop.
Martha Alegria Reichmann, whose late husband served as Honduran ambassador to the Holy See for 22 years, claimed the information was suppressed to allow Cardinal Óscar Rodriguez Maradiaga to keep his position on the powerful C9 council of cardinals.
In her new book, Sacred Betrayal, Alegria alleges that Maradiaga persuaded her and her husband to invest a large sum of money in an investment fund managed by a friend of his. The investment led to them losing their life savings.
