Anonymous hackers take down Vatican website
updated 03:35 pm EST, Wed March 7, 2012
Vatican website down after Anonymous attacks
The Vatican website was inaccessible on Wednesday, after hackers from the Italian arm of Anonymous attacked it. The group's motivation was reportedly the Roman Catholic Church's scandals and conservative doctrine, according to Reuters. The hackers claimed centuries-old arguments as the reasons, such as selling indulgences in the 16th century and burning heretics during the days of the Inquisition.
"Today, Anonymous has decided to put your site under siege in response to your doctrine, liturgy and the absurd and anachronistic rules that your profit-making organization spreads around the world," Anonymous' website read. "This attack is not against the Christian religion or the faithful around the world but against the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church."
Also at issue was the Vatican's "retrograde" interference with "daily" Italian domestic affairs, the hackers said.
The Vatican's spokesperson said technicians are working on bringing the website back up.
