The hacking group Anonymous took down several Vatican websites on Wednesday, saying it was targeting the "corrupt" Catholic Church, a day after a high-profile bust of the group's alleged leaders. "Anonymous decided today to besiege your site in response to the doctrine, to the liturgies, to the absurd and anachronistic concepts that your for-profit organisation spreads around the world," the hackers said in a statement.
"This attack is not against the Christian religion or the faithful around the world but against the corrupt Roman Apostolic Church," said the statement, posted on the Italian-language version of the Anonymous website. Aside from taking down www.vatican.va, the hacking group also claimed responsibility for attacking several Vatican-related sites including that of its newspaper.