(ZENIT News / Rome, 12.14.2022).- Last month, Pope Francis privately met with Vatican Museums Vice Director Monsignor Paolo Nicolini. The meeting came days after The Daily Wire notified the Holy See of a months-long investigation that suggests that lucrative rights to priceless Vatican-owned art were being sold off by a third party. The investigation will be published by The Daily Wire on Wednesday, December 14, 2022.
New York attorney Sarah Rose Speno came upon what she called a “high-tech heist of world class treasured art” when she sought to acquire licensing rights to artwork owned by the Vatican Museums. Speno pursued licensing through Scripta Maneant, a company that represented they could license rights to Vatican artwork. Speno soon discovered that the company refused to provide evidence of Vatican approval for her proposal and Scripta Maneant had sold images to another immersive Vatican exhibit in Boston — both companies claiming collaboration with the Vatican. A portion of the $550,000 licensing fee requested by Scripta Maneant to Speno was, according to Scripta Maneant, going to be paid to the Vatican through Monsignor Nicolini, the Vice Director of the Vatican Museums. When Scripta Maneant requested an initial payment via cash wire of $82,500 before they would produce proof of Vatican approval, Speno became suspicious.
After failing to produce evidence of their licensing rights, Scripta Maneant threatened to sue The Daily Wire to prevent publication of this information. The Vatican has not yet responded to The Daily Wire about the topic of discussion between Pope Francis and Monsignor Nicolini on November 7.
