A group of nuns in Argentina is being investigated over accusations they helped to hide a stash of money and jewelry.
The BBC reports that the Roman Catholic Church itself has launched the inquiry into the allegations – which concern four sisters of the Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima religious community.
A government minister was recently arrested just outside the convent – and he was allegedly trying to hide around £7 million ($6 million) of money and other valuable items. Two of the sisters were allegedly seen helping the man – Jose Lopez – with the bags of money.
One of the nuns is now scheduled to appear in court next month. In addition to the secular court appearance, the Church says its investigation will attempt to ascertain if any Church laws have been broken. Spokesperson Rev Tom O'Donnell said he would be trying "to determine if there was a canonical crime."
A new government in Buenos Aires has said it's aiming to tackle corruption. In addition, Pope Francis has made eliminating corruption from Catholic institutions one of the cornerstones of his Papacy. The Pope himself is Argentinian and he served as the Archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 until his election as Pope in 2013.
