VATICAN CITY (AP) – The Vatican’s children’s hospital is releasing its annual report after denouncing as a “hoax” an Associated Press investigation that found its mission shifted under its past administration to focus more on profits than on its small patients.
The president of the Bambino Gesu Pediatric Hospital and senior medical officials were scheduled to present the report Tuesday in the presence of the Vatican secretary of state and Italy’s health minister.
The previous day, the AP revealed that staff complained to the Vatican in early 2014 that corners were being cut, safety protocols ignored and children put at risk in a push for profits, prompting two secret Vatican-commissioned investigations.
The hospital called the AP’s report a “hoax” that “contained false, dated and gravely defamatory accusations and conjectures. It threatened legal action.