From January 1, anyone who enters or exits the Vatican will have to swipe their new magnetic ID cards which are fitted with a chip that makes it possible to locate the card’s owner at any time, reports Vatican Insider.

The swipe cards are just one of a number of increased security measures foollowing the Vatileaks affair. They include locked archives, more stringent checks on those who wish to view dossiers and the obligation to declare every document that is photocopied.

The Holy See has introduced a set of new, tougher rules, which even apply to the few members of the papal household. The personal secretaries’ office has been declared off limits to prevent a repeat of the leaked document incident.

The Pope’s secretaries, Georg Gänswein and Alfred Xuereb share an office that is adjacent to Benedict XVI’s study. In this office, apart from the photocopier, there was also a desk with a computer for the papal butler. This is where Paolo Gabriele, Benedict XVI’s former butler, made copies of the famous leaked confidential documents that were passed on to Fr Georg when the Pope had finished reading them.

Because of the Vatileaks scandal, not only is the new papal butler, Sandro Mariotti, not given any secretarial tasks, he is forbidden from spending time in the secretaries’ office.

Security has also been tightened with regards to the handling of documents that make their way from the Secretariat of State to the Pope’s desk. These documents are then returned to the Secretariat of State with any additional notes and the unmistakable “B16” the Pope adds in his own writing to all letters read by him personally.

FULL STORY Swipe cards lead tighter security at the Vatican (Vatican Insider)

RELATED COVERAGE

Vatican judges say computer technician was hard to believe (NCR)