“Report: Australia’s Church Leaders Were Unaware of $1.7 Billion Transferred From Vatican” https://www.ncregister.com/blog/vatican-australia-transfer
“Cardinal George Pell has told an Italian current affairs program that there is “some evidence but no proof” that figures within the Vatican conspired to “destroy” him, the strongest comments he has made to date that allege the charges against him may be linked to Vatican corruption.
Pell claimed all senior figures within the Vatican who had taken charge of reforming the finances of the Holy See “with very few exceptions, has been attacked by the media on the level of reputation in one way or another” (12/15/20) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/16/cardinal-george-pell-tells-italian-media-there-is-some-evidence-but-no-proof-vatican-conspired-against-him
“Vatican risks going slowly broke, George Pell says” (12/9/20) https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/vatican-risks-going-broke-slowly-george-pell-says-20201209-p56lyu.html
“Pope Francis appointed Pell, the former archbishop of Sydney, in 2014 to head the newly-created Secretariat for the Economy and mandated him with cleaning up the Vatican’s murky finances.
Pell ran into resistance from some Vatican officials, particularly Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, then deputy secretary of state who wanted Vatican departments to continue controlling their own funds.
Becciu forced out external auditors brought in by Pell as well as the Vatican’s first auditor general.
In September, Pope Francis fired Becciu, accusing him of nepotism and embezzlement. Becciu, who also has been caught up in a scandal involving the Vatican’s purchase of a luxury property in London, denies all wrongdoing.
Pell went to Australia in 2018 to face charges and never resumed his Vatican duties. He returned to Rome in September and has met quietly with his successor as treasurer, Jesuit priest Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves.”
December 23, 2020: “Currently the Vatican is juggling several significant predicaments on the financial front. Not only is the Holy See looking down the barrel of a $60 million deficit for 2020, but it also faces a looming pension crisis caused in part by the fact that the Vatican is over-staffed relative to its resources and struggles to meet payroll, let alone setting aside a reserve for when these employees retire.In addition, the Vatican also depends on contributions from dioceses and other Catholic organizations around the world, which has also been reduced since dioceses themselves face COVID-related shortfalls as collections from Sunday Mass have significantly dried up in places where public liturgies have either been suspended or had limited attendance due to the pandemic.The Vatican is also undergoing immense economic pressure over years of financial scandal, the most recent example of which is a $225 million land deal in London in which a former Harrod’s warehouse originally slated for conversion into luxury apartments was purchased by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State drawing on funds from “Peter’s Pence,” an annual collection designed to support the works of the pope.” https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/12/a-grounded-pope-spent-2020-trying-to-clean-house-on-vatican-finances/
“Pope Francis Strips Powerful Vatican Office of Its Financial Assets” (New York Times, December 28, 2020):
“Pope Francis has stripped the Vatican’s most powerful office of its significant financial assets, the Vatican said Monday, after dubious investments squandered millions of euros in church donations, sparking an embarrassing scandal and prompting an ongoing corruption investigation.
A new law enacted by the pope orders the secretariat of state, the diplomatic and administrative arm of the Holy See, to transfer all its financial holdings and real estate assets to another office, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which administers the Vatican’s finances, by Feb. 4.
The changes, included in a law made public Monday, follow a Vatican investigation into the mismanagement of funds at the secretariat of state.
…The new law effectively adopts the recommendations of Cardinal George Pell, Francis’ first economy minister, who repeatedly clashed with officials at the secretariat of state in his attempts to gain greater oversight over all of the Vatican’s finances.”
Also: “Australia’s Catholic bishops are working on a direct request to the Pope to investigate and explain how $2.3bn was transferred from the Vatican City to Australia over six years without their knowledge.” https://www.theaustralian.com.au/ [paywall]
“…The Australian Catholic bishops said they had no knowledge of any Catholic dioceses, charities, or organizations in the country receiving the funds, and Vatican officials have also denied knowledge of the transfers, according to Reuters.
A Vatican official told Reuters that “that amount of money and that number of transfers did not leave the Vatican City,” and that the Vatican would also be seeking more details from Australian authorities.
“It’s not our money because we don’t have that kind of money,” the official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/australias-bishops-seek-answers-about-mystery-billions-from-vatican-62879
Pope Francis has ordered cardinals to take a 10% pay cut and reduced the salaries of most other clerics working in the Vatican in order to save jobs of employees as the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Holy See’s income. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-salaries-idUSKBN2BG1LG
The Holy See budget covers entities in Rome that oversee the governing of the 1.3 billion-member worldwide Church, its diplomatic representations, and media operations.
Vatican City, including the Vatican Museums and the Vatican bank, has a separate budget, although income from both are often transferred to the Holy See to help plug deficits.
The Holy See’s income is from donations, real estate management and investments.
“Report: Australia’s Church Leaders Were Unaware of $1.7 Billion Transferred From Vatican” https://www.ncregister.com/blog/vatican-australia-transfer
“Cardinal George Pell has told an Italian current affairs program that there is “some evidence but no proof” that figures within the Vatican conspired to “destroy” him, the strongest comments he has made to date that allege the charges against him may be linked to Vatican corruption.
Pell claimed all senior figures within the Vatican who had taken charge of reforming the finances of the Holy See “with very few exceptions, has been attacked by the media on the level of reputation in one way or another” (12/15/20) https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/dec/16/cardinal-george-pell-tells-italian-media-there-is-some-evidence-but-no-proof-vatican-conspired-against-him
“Vatican risks going slowly broke, George Pell says” (12/9/20) https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/vatican-risks-going-broke-slowly-george-pell-says-20201209-p56lyu.html
“Pope Francis appointed Pell, the former archbishop of Sydney, in 2014 to head the newly-created Secretariat for the Economy and mandated him with cleaning up the Vatican’s murky finances.
Pell ran into resistance from some Vatican officials, particularly Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, then deputy secretary of state who wanted Vatican departments to continue controlling their own funds.
Becciu forced out external auditors brought in by Pell as well as the Vatican’s first auditor general.
In September, Pope Francis fired Becciu, accusing him of nepotism and embezzlement. Becciu, who also has been caught up in a scandal involving the Vatican’s purchase of a luxury property in London, denies all wrongdoing.
Pell went to Australia in 2018 to face charges and never resumed his Vatican duties. He returned to Rome in September and has met quietly with his successor as treasurer, Jesuit priest Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves.”
December 23, 2020: “Currently the Vatican is juggling several significant predicaments on the financial front. Not only is the Holy See looking down the barrel of a $60 million deficit for 2020, but it also faces a looming pension crisis caused in part by the fact that the Vatican is over-staffed relative to its resources and struggles to meet payroll, let alone setting aside a reserve for when these employees retire.In addition, the Vatican also depends on contributions from dioceses and other Catholic organizations around the world, which has also been reduced since dioceses themselves face COVID-related shortfalls as collections from Sunday Mass have significantly dried up in places where public liturgies have either been suspended or had limited attendance due to the pandemic.The Vatican is also undergoing immense economic pressure over years of financial scandal, the most recent example of which is a $225 million land deal in London in which a former Harrod’s warehouse originally slated for conversion into luxury apartments was purchased by the Vatican’s Secretariat of State drawing on funds from “Peter’s Pence,” an annual collection designed to support the works of the pope.” https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/12/a-grounded-pope-spent-2020-trying-to-clean-house-on-vatican-finances/
“Cardinal George Pell has been found guilty in Australia of sexual offences against children, making him the highest-ranking Catholic figure to receive such a conviction.” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-47366113
“Why George Pell’s conviction is only being reported now, two months later” https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/26/media/reliable-sources-02-25-19/index.html
7AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 30th
“Pope Francis resigning? See how this news could shape the Vatican’s future” (12/23/20) https://filmdaily.co/news/pope-francis-news/
“Pope Francis Strips Powerful Vatican Office of Its Financial Assets” (New York Times, December 28, 2020):
“Pope Francis has stripped the Vatican’s most powerful office of its significant financial assets, the Vatican said Monday, after dubious investments squandered millions of euros in church donations, sparking an embarrassing scandal and prompting an ongoing corruption investigation.
A new law enacted by the pope orders the secretariat of state, the diplomatic and administrative arm of the Holy See, to transfer all its financial holdings and real estate assets to another office, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, which administers the Vatican’s finances, by Feb. 4.
The changes, included in a law made public Monday, follow a Vatican investigation into the mismanagement of funds at the secretariat of state.
…The new law effectively adopts the recommendations of Cardinal George Pell, Francis’ first economy minister, who repeatedly clashed with officials at the secretariat of state in his attempts to gain greater oversight over all of the Vatican’s finances.”
NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/world/europe/pope-francis-vatican-finances.html
Also: “Australia’s Catholic bishops are working on a direct request to the Pope to investigate and explain how $2.3bn was transferred from the Vatican City to Australia over six years without their knowledge.” https://www.theaustralian.com.au/ [paywall]
“…The Australian Catholic bishops said they had no knowledge of any Catholic dioceses, charities, or organizations in the country receiving the funds, and Vatican officials have also denied knowledge of the transfers, according to Reuters.
A Vatican official told Reuters that “that amount of money and that number of transfers did not leave the Vatican City,” and that the Vatican would also be seeking more details from Australian authorities.
“It’s not our money because we don’t have that kind of money,” the official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/australias-bishops-seek-answers-about-mystery-billions-from-vatican-62879
Pope Francis has ordered cardinals to take a 10% pay cut and reduced the salaries of most other clerics working in the Vatican in order to save jobs of employees as the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Holy See’s income. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-salaries-idUSKBN2BG1LG
The Holy See budget covers entities in Rome that oversee the governing of the 1.3 billion-member worldwide Church, its diplomatic representations, and media operations.
Vatican City, including the Vatican Museums and the Vatican bank, has a separate budget, although income from both are often transferred to the Holy See to help plug deficits.
The Holy See’s income is from donations, real estate management and investments.
“Vatican embezzlement trial: Cardinal Angelo Becciu among 10 charged” (BBC) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57706618
7AM MDT, Monday morning, 5th