Vatican books are 'misleading', says cardinal's spokesman

(ANSA) - Vatican City, November 5 - Recent books based on leaked Vatican documents appear to contain false and misleading claims about the expenses of Cardinal George Pell and of the Secretariat for the Economy that he heads up, a spokesman for the cardinal told ANSA on Thursday.
    Two books, "Merchants in the Temple" (Via Crucis in the Italian version) by Gianluigi Nuzzi and "Avarice" by Emiliano Fittipaldi were released on Thursday, detailing waste, mismanagement and excessive expenses racked up by Vatican officials. The authors say they based their research on Vatican documents.
    "To avoid any doubt about Cardinal Pell's efforts to manage and control costs, the secretariat finished the year within the budget for 2014 and it was one of the few departments to propose a reduction in overall spending in its request for the 2015 budget," the spokesman said.