Checks and balances | Vatican employee caught trying to steal 17th century manuscript

A Vatican employee has been arrested and detained after attempting to sell a 17th century manuscript.

Vatican police have detained an employee after he allegedly tried to sell a 17th century manuscript of designs for the altar canopy at St. Peter’s Basilica back to the Holy See, the supreme body of government of the Catholic Church.

The Vatican said it had noticed the 18-page manuscript had gone missing from the basilica archives.

However, Vatican police had set a trap to find the guilty employee through following negotiations for the purchase until money was exchanged, which led them to arresting the worker and putting them in detention.