(Europapress) A second high-ranking Holy See official told a Vatican court on Friday that Pope Francis had authorised spending hundreds of thousands of euros in ransom payments to try to free a nun who was kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in Mali. Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, the Holy See's the third most senior Vatican figure, told the tribunal that he had sought, and received Francis’ approval to wire the money soon after he took up his duties as the “substitute” in the secretariat of state in late 2018. Pena Parra was answering questions for a second day Friday after being called by defense attorneys representing the ten people on trial for a host (...)
