Francis’ interlocutor, Father Mattia Ferrari, a chaplain for a humanitarian organization, was under surveillance. This meant that the pope himself was also being wiretapped.
In February, it was revealed that the founder of Mediterranea Saving Humans, prominent Italian activist Luca Casarini, had been tracked for a year by an unidentified entity using a spy system from Israeli company Paragon Solutions called Graphite, reports Do Rzeczy.
Shortly after, it was revealed that Mediterranea Saving Humans chaplain, Father Mattia Ferrari, was similarly spied on. He serves as a spiritual guardian aboard the migrant NGO’s ship.
During an interview with Italian television station Nove, Father Ferrari announced that he had learned that his phone had also been tapped.
“We don’t know if it was Paragon in my case, but there is talk of the so-called Paragon case because it all started with the case of Luca Casarini, who was attacked by the Paragon spyware Graphite,” the priest added.
A civil case has been launched to determine who else may have been monitored by Graphite or another similar system.
In recent days, it has been discovered that on Feb. 8, 2024, the priest’s phone also received a notification of a cyberattack using spyware linked to unspecified government entities.
The priest noted that it is not yet known how long his eavesdropping lasted because the analysis in this case is still ongoing. In connection with this, he filed a report with the prosecutor’s office in Bologna. During the same TV interview, Father Ferrari recalled that Pope Francis had also had a telephone conversation with him regarding the situation of migrants detained in Libya and actions to support them.
“Does this mean that the Pope was also wiretapped? asked the host Fabio Fazio.
The answer was given by Nello Scavo, a journalist from the Catholic daily Avvenire, who was present in the studio. “If Father Mattia was being listened to, Pope Francis was also being listened to, and many times,” he said.
Scavo also stressed that this type of software is not limited to intercepting conversations, but can also record images, as it allows the camera to be automatically activated. The Italian journalist noted that the pope had contacted Father Ferrari by phone many times.
“It cannot be ruled out that as a result of these actions the pope was also spied on,” noted Scavo, adding that the wiretapped Luca Casarini took part in the synod in the Vatican, including closed meetings.
“It is important to establish who is behind these wiretaps and whether there is any legal basis for carrying them out,” he added.
