US EditionPope meets with Italian secret agents and urges them to be ethical
Pope Leo XIV called for legal oversight and respect for rights during Italy's intelligence centenary, highlighting ethical duties amid evolving risks and 30 million pilgrims visiting Rome.
- On Friday, Pope Leo XIV met Italy's Security Intelligence System on their centenary, warning them not to use confidential information to intimidate, manipulate, blackmail, or discredit others.
- Marking their centenary this year, Italy's Security Intelligence System works closely with Vatican law enforcement during the Holy Year amid heavy pilgrim flows.
- He urged that professionalism be accompanied by ethics, saying intelligence services must respect human dignity and rights while ensuring proportionality, legal clarity, judicial authorities oversight, and transparent finances.
- Welcoming the group, Pope Leo XIV thanked agents for their delicate work, paid tribute to fallen operatives, and referenced the Vatican criminal investigation opened a year ago into alleged leaks tied to an Italian financial police official.
- Warning of information-era risks, Pope Leo XIV said a data-saturated world demands vigilance and high moral standards from intelligence personnel and the Church.
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Intelligence agencies must protect human dignity always, pope says
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — As they do essential work for the safety of Italy and its citizens — and often help the Vatican as well — the officers and agents of Italy’s intelligence agencies must remain “firmly anchored in those legal and ethical principles that place the dignity of the human person above all else,” Pope Leo XIV said. Dozens of members of the Italian government intelligence apparatus met the pope Dec. 12 in the Hall of Blessings over t…
Pope Implores Italy's '007s' to Be Ethical
Pope Leo XIV met Friday with members of Italy's intelligence services and warned them not to use confidential information for blackmailing or other nefarious purposes. Leo urged the 007s, as the Italian agents are popularly known, to do their work professionally and ethically, always respecting the human dignity of those...
Associated Press News
Pope meets with Italian secret agents and urges them to be ethical
Pope Leo XIV has met with members of Italy’s intelligence services and warned them not to use confidential information for blackmailing or other nefarious purposes.
Pope warns about risks to Church when intelligence agencies ‘act for nefarious purposes’
Pope Leo XIV speaks to people who work in Italy’s intelligence sector in the Vatican’s Hall of Blessings on Dec. 12, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Dec 12, 2025 / 09:11 am (CNA). Pope Leo XIV warned that intelligence agencies in so... [...]
On Friday, the pope denounced the misuse of sensitive data and stressed the importance of protecting the rights and value of each person.
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