Pope Francis' Bombshell Memoir Stolen and Leaked Online Before Release — As The Autobiography Reveals A Different Side To The Man Who's Always Been 'Melancholy'
Pope Francis sparked health concerns after being taken to a hospital in Rome and was seen using a wheelchair.
Jan. 24 2025, Published 6:26 p.m. ET
Pope Francis' bombshell memoir has been stolen and leaked online before the release date.
RadarOnline.com can report critics say the autobiography will reveal the truth about a miserable man who hates fame.
Pope Francis was seen arriving to his weekly Wednesday meeting in a wheelchair.
According to reports, Pope Francis’s upcoming autobiography was stolen and illegally leaked online.
It was allegedly available for viewing for more than a week before it was taken down by law enforcement officials.
Despite the internet being sent into a frenzy over the leak, which AIR MAIL was able to locate and download, The Vatican seemed unaware of the bizarre incident.
A Vatican spokesman said: "We have no information regarding the diffusion of the text."
Mondadori, an Italian publisher, also confirmed the authenticity of the leaked files.
Despite that, Pope Francis has continued to uphold the Vatican's official policy banning gay applicants from the priesthood.
The book, Hope: The Autobiography of Pope Francis, was released worldwide on January 14, 2025, by Penguin Random House in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Brazil.
The book launch made history as it is the first memoir ever written by a sitting Pope.
The book, ghost-written by the Italian journalist Carlo Musso, shares a look inside the Pope's upbringing and journey to become the leader he is today.
It's more than 300 pages long and was put together from conversations between the Pope and Musso over the last few years.
Before the release, the book promised to include a "wealth of revelations, anecdotes, and illuminating thoughts."
Since ascending to the papacy in 2013, the 87-year-old pontiff has been credited with leading the church toward a more accepting and inclusive approach toward the LGBT community.
Back in early December 2024, weeks before the was set to be released, an employee at Kösel-Verlag, the imprint at Penguin Random House Germany, got an e-mail from a person who claimed to be Musso.
After exchanging a few more emails, the German employee for the publisher ended up sending over a file of the manuscript to the person who they believed was the co-author.
However, it wasn't Musso – it was a person pretending to be him, and just a few hours later, the manuscript was uploaded into a major book-piracy portal.
Employees were then alerted about the potential scam, and Penguin Random House Germany reported the incident to police.
Outlets confirmed the incident, according to reports, and the head of P.R. at Kösel-Verlag stated: "Fraudsters have obtained a version of the Italian manuscript of ‘HOPE’ through criminal activity. Kösel-Verlag has reported the incident to the authorities, and legal proceedings are underway."
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Libero Milone, a Netherlands-born Italian businessman who was appointed by Pope Francis to be the first auditor-general of the Vatican in 2015 before being forced to resign in 2017, has vowed to uncover the truth around the demise of Cardinal George Pell.
Despite the mishap, the memoir revealed a new side of Pope Francis.
It explained how he considered going into the medical field before he realized – he really wanted to "become a doctor of the soul."
He was ordained as a priest in 1969 at 33 years old, and in 2013, he became Pope Benedict XVI.
Plus, the memoir explained that despite being a public figure, he's never enjoyed attending parties as he's always been "melancholy."
