That scandal has now led to the removal of Cardinal Angelo Becciu from his post as prefect of the Congregation for Saints and the renunciation of his rights as a cardinal. Commenting on the cost for the diplomatic missions, Father Guerrero told Vatican news, “We do a lot with a little.” The other 22 million euros ($25 million) spent by the Secretariat of States were for services and administrative costs. Nov 21st 2019. catholic news service; The dome of St. Peter's Basilica is pictured at the Vatican July 12, 2019. The Italian daily Corriere della Sera revealed this week that the Vatican’s Secretariat of State invested last February in Lapo Elkann’s eyewear and “lifestyle products” company as well as the Elton John film, using money donated by the Catholic faithful through worldwide “Peter’s Pence” collections.. The report shows the Vatican Curia earned more than $360 million in 2019, with an expenditure of almost $374 million, leaving a deficit of about $14 million, which is … But we still want your feedback. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini), Support RNS and get your donation doubled, ‘We out’: Charlie Dates on why his church is leaving the SBC over rejection of critical race theory, Yule traditions new and old wish good riddance to 2020 at the winter solstice, Lauren Daigle responds, wants out of Sean Feucht, ‘New Years Rockin’ Eve’ controversy, ‘Lo, a virgin shall conceive’ … or not, depending on the translation, Despite COVID-19, economic downturns, religious charities working overseas keep the faith, Cardinal Pell, publicizing new book, forgives enemies, praises Trump, Vatican unveils nativity scene and lights up tree for Christmas, Making an American saint can take more than a miracle, © Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. “I believe that we are learning from past mistakes or imprudence. Speaking to Vatican media outlets on Thursday (Oct. 1), Alves said the pursuit of financial transparency is a priority for Pope Francis, who demands “the economy of Holy See must be as transparent as a glass house.”. The economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of stamps, coins, medals, and tourist mementos as well as fees for admission to museums and publication sales. VATICAN CITY (RNS) — For the first time since 2016, the Vatican has released its financial budget for the administration of Roman Curia. The official numbers refer specifically to the Roman Curia, which comprises the 60 institutions and departments charged with administering and enacting Pope Francis’ goals for integral human development, evangelization and education projects. You can either click on the link in your confirmation email or simply re-enter your email address below to confirm it. We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. Photo by Robert Ballecer, courtesy of Society of Jesus. Pell said he had no doubt that Guerrero was honest and up to the job. Pope Francis established the secretariat in a motu proprio, Fidelis dispensator et prudens, published on 24 February 2014.It is headed by a prefect–originally a cardinal–who reports directly to the Pope. The Vatican and IDI financial scandal: A CNA explainer. Edward Pentin, NC Register. Vatican finances, the reform stuck halfway. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. Alves also said that, to his knowledge, no funds derived from Peter’s Pence, donations by the faithful to promote the pope’s charitable work, were used in the controversial London investment. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc with Vatican finances, forcing it to dip into reserves and implement tough cost controls. Before you can comment, you need to update your profile to include your first and last name, as required in our. Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more. Password reset instructions will be sent to your registered email address. The first source was “self-generated revenues” from real-estate management, financial revenues and commercial operations and services, which brought in a total of 208 million euros ($244 million). >RELATED: Pope Francis accepts resignation of cardinal named in Vatican financial scandals. Father Guerrero highlighted the fact that if one put all the aforementioned Vatican entities together, the total net patrimony of the Vatican would be around 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion), adding that if this were put into a consolidated financial statement from the Vatican there would be no deficit in 2019. As part of the reform of the Curia, a meeting of the heads of dicasteries was held on September 20, 2019 at the Vatican, to address economic issues in the context of diminishing financial resources. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to. People gather in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican as Pope Francis recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio, top right, on Nov. 1, 2019. We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Why am I being asked to create an account? According to the statement, the Roman Curia had a net income of 307 million euros ($361 million), a total expenditure of 318 million euros ($374 million) and net equity of 1.402 billion euros ($1.65 billion). The report shows the Vatican Curia earned more than $360 million in 2019, with an expenditure of almost $374 million, leaving a deficit of about $14 … More than 65% of the money administered by the Roman Curia is dedicated to supporting missions around the world, followed by asset management (21%) and administration costs (14%). Vatican City, Dec 16, 2019 / 03:40 pm (CNA).- On Oct. 1, Vatican police raided the usually quiet offices of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. Cleaning up Vatican finances has been a priority for the 83-year-old Argentine pontiff from the start, say his advisers. “I believe that we are learning from past mistakes or imprudence,” he added. The Vatican releases its 2019 financial statement as scandals persist Gerard O’Connell October 01, 2020 The dome of St. Peter's Basilica is pictured at the Vatican. The Vatican and IDI financial scandal: A CNA explainer. Christ is born today, is baptized today, dies today, rises today. The other entities that make up the Vatican are: the Institute for the Works of Religion (commonly known as the Vatican Bank), representing 17 percent; the Vatican City State, that represents 15 percent; the Vatican Pension Fund and 33 other entities that make up 24 percent; Peter’s Pence, 6 percent; and other dedicated funds in Secretariat of State that make 3 percent. Vatican City, Oct 29, 2019 / 02:03 pm (CNA).- An Italian dermatology hospital and two senior cardinals are at the center of a burgeoning financial scandal involving a Vatican bank, the … If all the income was counted together, Alves noted, the Vatican would not be in deficit, but said that fact doesn’t mean its finances don’t have “any difficulties and that in this coronavirus crisis we will not have any bigger ones.”. By Michelle La Rosa. Authored by a member of the force that protects Pope Francis, "The Vatican Christmas Cookbook" explores the food and traditions that make for a happy holiday. We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. In 2019, Vatican����City is operating with a budget deficit of $76 million dollars. It is, after the Secretariat of State, the second dicastery named a secretariat, an indication of its importance relative to other parts of the Curia. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. April 2016 The Vatican Secretariat of State announces suspension of first external audit of the Vatican without consulting Cardinal Pell. [Explore America’s in-depth coverage of Pope Francis.]. It shows that the Roman Curia’s 307 million euros ($361 million) in income came from three different sources. The figures do not include the budgets of the Vatican Museums, donations to the Peter’s Pence charitable fund, the Vatican bank or numerous other funds and institutions, which together brought in over $4.7 billion in 2019. Publication of two books focused on financial irregularities — Nuzzi’s “Merchants in the Temple” and Emiliano Fittipaldi’s “Avarice” — led to both writers being charged by a Vatican court of “soliciting and exercising pressure” on a Vatican employee in order to obtain confidential documents. This improved situation was mainly due to the capital gained on the sale of a property for 15 million euros ($17.6 million), gains from financial investments for 68.1 million euros ($80 million) and an influx of 30.9 million euros ($36.3 million) from assets and investment properties. VATICAN CITY, October 15, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― Investments made by Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu are at the heart of a Vatican investigation, says a leading financial newspaper. Vatican City, Nov 20, 2019 / 10:26 am (CNA) – The Vatican Secretary of State told CNA this week that he is responsible for arranging a controversial loan for the purchase of a bankrupt Italian hospital, and that he arranged with Cardinal Donald Wuerl a grant from the U.S.-based Papal Foundation to cover the loan when it could not be repaid. “They’re afraid of the audit uncovering information they don’t want uncovered and are worried about losing sovereign control over Vatican finances,” a source tells the Register. Pope Francis established the secretariat in a motu proprio, Fidelis dispensator et prudens, published on 24 February 2014.It is headed by a prefect–originally a cardinal–who reports directly to the Pope. We can't do it without you—America Media relies on generous support from our readers. By Dennis Sadowski • Catholic News Service • Posted December 19, 2019 . In this context, 65 million euros ($76 million) were spent by the Secretariat of State, of which 43 million euros ($50 million) went to costs for the 126 nunciatures (Vatican diplomatic missions or nunciatures) in countries across the world. … A significant slice of the Roman Curia’s expenditure (22 percent), 46 million euros ($54 million), went for the Dicastery of Communications in 2019. Seven million euros ($12 million) or 3 percent of total expenditures, were spent by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, as it sought to promote justice, peace and the care of our common home worldwide. 3 at the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who has disputed accusations of mismanagement and nepotism. Cleaning up Vatican finances has been a priority for the 83-year-old Argentine pontiff from the start, say his advisers. People gather in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican as Pope Francis recites the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio, top right, on Nov. 1, 2019. Millennials Confront True Meaning of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’ (A Parable), The Jesuit Social Research Insitute seeks a new Executive Director, Make your life a chapter in the Gospel, the story of salvation, With Congress in turmoil, Catholic charities mobilize to respond to Covid-19 hunger crisis, This Christmas, let the Swiss Guard plan your holiday menu. Ten million euros (5 percent of the total expenditure) went to the Vatican Library, which includes money for the upkeep of perhaps the world’s greatest patrimony of ancient texts and church writings and documents dating back to the early centuries of the church. In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. VATICAN CITY A FTER A WEEK of resignations and exclusions, the Vatican faces the very real risk of being reduced once more to the status of an international financial … It therefore closed 2019 with a net deficit of 11.1 million euros ($13 million), considerably less than the previous year (2018), when it was 75.2 million euros ($88 million). Vatican City, Nov 20, 2019 / 10:26 am (CNA) – The Vatican Secretary of State told CNA this week that he is responsible for arranging a controversial loan for the purchase of a bankrupt Italian hospital, and that he arranged with Cardinal Donald Wuerl a grant from the U.S.-based Papal Foundation to cover the loan when it could not be repaid. The Vatican City state employed 4,822 persons in 2016. Nov 28, 2019. editor; Italian banker Carmelo Barbagallo, named Nov. 27 by Pope Francis as the new head of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority. Gerard O’Connell is America’s Vatican correspondent. Tuesday, October 1, 2019 INSIDE THE VATICAN Today in Rome the Vatican Press Office started off the month of October 2019 by issuing a brief, somewhat mysterious notice regarding a police raid to acquire documents related to Vatican financial dealings.Here is that communiqué:Holy See Press Office Communiqué, 01.10.2019 (link)This morning activities were carried out to acquire… You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics. He took up his post in January. “The faithful have the right to know how we utilize our resources,” said the prefect for economy at the Vatican, the Rev. All rights reserved. The gap is a measure of how the pope has fallen short of his mandate when elected six years ago to overhaul the Vatican’s management and finances. Nov 28, 2019. editor; Italian banker Carmelo Barbagallo, named Nov. 27 by Pope Francis as the new head of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority. The third source was “contribution from related entities,” namely the Governorate of Vatican City State (mainly income from museums), the Vatican Bank, and the Fabric of St. Peter’s (an institution responsible for St. Peter's Basilica), which brought in a total of 43 million euros ($50 million). “We are not the owners, we are custodians of the goods we have received,” said the Spanish-born Jesuit, whom Pope Francis appointed to head the secretariat in October 2019. Vatican incomeToday’s financial statement came on the eve of the Peter’s Pence collection that will be taken up in Catholic churches throughout the world on Sunday, Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. if you are trying to comment, you must log in or set up a new account. When we come to Eucharist at Christmas, we believe that time warps in upon itself. The Vatican’s official bank has faced repeated crises since it was founded in 1942, and the bank itself was created to curtail fiscal irregularity. Like most other countries, the Vatican City State will end 2020 with its public finances in a precarious condition. In 2019, Vatican����City is operating with a budget deficit of $76 million dollars. The Italian daily Corriere della Sera revealed this week that the Vatican’s Secretariat of State invested last February in Lapo Elkann’s eyewear and “lifestyle products” company as well as the Elton John film, using money donated by the Catholic faithful through worldwide “Peter’s Pence” collections.. It is, after the Secretariat of State, the second dicastery named a secretariat, an indication of its importance relative to other parts of the Curia. The Vatican Museums, a once-dependable cash cow, have been closed for months, resulting in a loss of millions of euros in revenues. As part of the reform of the Curia, a meeting of the heads of dicasteries was held on September 20, 2019 at the Vatican, to address economic issues in the context of diminishing financial resources. We cannot guarantee a response from any author. “The Secretariat of State has been working on this process for months,” he said. The Rev. Pope Benedict XVI called Peter’s Pence “the most characteristic expression of the participation of all the faithful in the Bishop of Rome’s charitable initiatives in favor of the universal church” in a 2006 speech cited on the Secretariat of State’s website. It is worth mentioning that the dioceses that gave the largest donations in 2019 came from Germany and Italy. When you click submit, this article page will reload. He was given the task of completing the reform of all Vatican finances and ensuring transparency and accountability. What are considered to be exorbitant salaries of certain external actors were at … Please contact us at members@americamedia.org with any questions. (Credit: Paul Haring/CNS.) You can also manage your account details and your print subscription after logging in. Vatican expendituresThe financial statement explains in great detail the 318 million euros ($374 million) in expenditures by the Roman Curia in 2019. I believe that we are learning from past mistakes or imprudence.”, Commenting on the deficit, Father Guerrero emphasized that the Roman Curia is not like a corporation or company seeking to make profit: “Our mission will always tend to produce deficits, it will never generate enough funds [for our needs].”. The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc with Vatican finances, forcing it to dip into reserves and implement tough cost controls. this helps us promote a safe and accountable online community, and allows us to update you when other commenters reply to your posts. (Credit: Stock image.) “The faithful have a right to know how we use the resources, the money we get,” Juan Antonio Guerrero, S.J., the prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, told Vatican News today when he presented the consolidated financial statement of the Roman Curia for 2019. Pope Francis faced questions regarding Vatican finances arising from recent events that have provoked concern about the possibility of mismanagement … (Credit: Stock image.) It is doing a great job of ensuring clarity, transparency and order.”. Vatican police raided the offices of the Holy See's Secretariat of State and its Financial Information Authority, or AIF, on Tuesday and took away documents and electronic devices as … Nov 21st 2019. By Dennis Sadowski • Catholic News Service • Posted December 19, 2019 . Father Guerrero emphasized that today’s statement only presents the finances of the Roman Curia (that is composed of 60 entities), which counts for 35 percent of the total Vatican consolidated financial statement. The report shows the Vatican Curia earned more than $360 million in 2019, with an expenditure of almost $374 million, leaving a deficit of about $14 million, which is an improvement from the over $88 million deficit it incurred the previous year. The rest of the money is spent on what the secretariat’s statement calls “the Apostolic Mission” of the Roman Curia. The publication of the budget comes at a time when the pope is enacting sweeping financial reform, changing the way the Vatican manages money, from real estate to banking to public procurement. “The gesture has not only a practical value, but also a strong symbolic one, as a sign of communion with the Pope and attention to the needs of one’s brothers.” Pope Francis hi… Credit: Bohumil Petrik/CNA. If you login and register your print subscription number with your account, you’ll have unlimited access to the website. The Vatican is using donations for the poor to fight its budget deficit, report says Published Wed, Dec 11 2019 1:52 PM EST Updated Wed, Dec 11 2019 … Father Guerrero presented the consolidated financial statement on Oct. 1 in the midst of an unfolding financial scandal linked to the Vatican’s purchase of a London property that has now extended into other areas. Edward Pentin, NC Register. Just how precarious is hard to … Instead, he said, the money came from a fund belonging to the powerful Secretariat of State in the Vatican. Vatican City, Oct 14, 2019 / 09:51 am .- The recent raid of Vatican offices is connected to an investigation into charges that Vatican money financed the development of luxury properties in … Big questions persist on Vatican finances. VATICAN CITY A FTER A WEEK of resignations and exclusions, the Vatican faces the very real risk of being reduced once more to the status of an international financial … Wednesday, July 24, 2019 By October 2016, two years into his term as prefect of the Vatican… The Oct. 1 Holy See financial report for 2019 showed that the expenditure of the 60 curial offices for 2019 totaled 318 million euros (around $374 million) out of an income of 307 million euros. Giani joined the Vatican police force as the deputy police chief in 1999 after a stint in Italy's financial police and the information department of the Italian premier's office. The second was from “external donations,” which are “dedicated donations” for specific purposes of the church’s mission and “donations from dioceses” in accordance with canon law; all these together brought in 56 million euros ($66 million). Financial scandal at the Vatican is nothing new. Today’s consolidated financial statement provides considerable detail regarding income and expenditure. Father Guerrero: “It is possible that, in some cases, the Holy See has been not only badly advised but also cheated. Pell said he had no doubt that Guerrero was honest and up to the job. A further 16 million euros ($19 million), 8 percent of the expenditure, went to the Eastern-rite churches, mainly in the Middle East, many of which are in great difficulty, with their numbers ever decreasing because of conflict or persecution. The net assets reported in the budget amount to more than $1.6 billion. Copyright © 2020 America Press Inc. | All Rights Reserved. The long-awaited reform coincides with numerous reports of Vatican financial scandals, which have led to several firings and departures, most recently the resignation of the former No. (CNS photo/Paul Haring), We’re sorry registration isn't working smoothly for you. We ask our visitors to confirm their email to keep your account secure and make sure you're able to receive email from us. What are considered to be exorbitant salaries of certain external actors were at … Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us. Logging in will also give you access to commenting features on our website. Today’s financial statement came on the eve of the Peter’s Pence collection that will be taken up in Catholic churches throughout the world on Sunday, Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi. Christmas made my family’s favorite traditions. We ask readers to log in so that we can recognize you as a registered user and give you unrestricted access to our website. “It is possible that, in some cases, the Holy See has been not only badly advised but also cheated,” he said. Besides, he added, the mission of the Roman Curia is to serve the pope and the Catholic Church, meaning that unlike a state or a company revenues are not its priority. You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form. “It is possible that, in some cases, the Holy See has been not only badly advised but also cheated,” Alves said, referring to a controversial Vatican investment in prime real estate in London that has been at the center of scandals over the administration of charitable donations. Three million euros ($3.5 million), one percent of the total expenditure, went to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which spends around 70 percent of its time on disciplinary questions, especially relating to cases of the abuse of minors by clergy, which is an essential task at this moment in history. Description. Vatican City, Dec 16, 2019 / 03:40 pm (CNA).- On Oct. 1, Vatican police raided the usually quiet offices of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State. Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves. We must resist,” he said. It dealt with issues concerning disarmament, human rights, human mobility, health care and concern for the poor and suffering. Description.