Anonymous has claimed credit for shutting down the website for the Vatican. As of 4:30 PM EST on March 7, 2012, their site is still down. This attack will accomplish nothing and will actually be detrimental to their cause (whatever that may be).
David DeGerolamo
Anonymous claims Vatican website shutdown
By Amber Lyon, Eric Marrapodi and Hada Messia, CNN
Rome (CNN) – Hackers are claiming to have shut down the website for the Catholic Church Wednesday. Vatican.va, the official website of the Holy See, was not operational Wednesday afternoon.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi confirmed to CNN the site was hacked, but said it would be “fully operational” again shortly.
Anonymous, a loosely-knit international hacking group, claimed responsibility for the church website shutdown.
“Anonymous has now decided to lay siege to your site in response to the doctrines, liturgies and the precepts, absurd and anachronistic, that your organization, (which) is for profit, propagates and spreads worldwide,” a statement in Italian on the blog “ufficiale di Anonymous Italia” read.
“This is NOT intended to attack the Christian religion or against the faithful around the world, but to the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church and all its emanations,” the statement added.
A longtime follower of Anonymous who is in touch with the hackers involved and who has knowledge of the plan told CNN that hackers within Anonymous Italy and AntiSec were responsible for shutdown of the church website. AntiSec Anons describe themselves as the “special forces” of the collective.
The source confirmed the statement on the Italian hacker’s website.
