Pope Francis dismisses insinuations about John Paul II and missing girl as baseless.
Pope Francis defended St. John Paul II and condemned the "offensive and baseless" insinuations about the late pontiff. The insinuations surfaced after an audiotape from a purported Roman mobster was played on an Italian TV program, insinuating that John Paul would go out looking for underage girls to molest. The tape was described as "slanderous" by the Vatican's media apparatus. The disappearance of the 15-year-old daughter of a Vatican employee in 1983 is an enduring mystery that has spawned countless theories and investigations. Last week, her brother met with Vatican prosecutors who reopened the investigation into her disappearance.
