After a close aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Pope Francis of being a Russophile, and the Vatican of receiving Russian funds, the Catholic Church issued a statement denying the accusations on Sunday (Sept 10). “The IOR does not receive or invest money from Russia,” read a statement by the Institute for Religious Works, Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Vatican bank’
Vatican bank reports profit increase while upholding Catholic ethics
Monday, June 12th, 2023
The Vatican bank’s commitment to upholding Catholic ethics helped it achieve a profit of €29.6 million in 2022, according to its recently published budget. Officially known as the Institute for Religious Works or IOR, the bank, once a symbol of financial misconduct, has successfully rebranded itself as a pillar of transparency at the Vatican. Pope Read more
Vatican bank posts healthy profit despite economic shock of pandemic
Monday, June 14th, 2021The Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank, showed a net profit of 36.4 million euros ($44.1 million) in 2020, according to its annual report. Compared to a net profit of 38 million euros ($46 million) the previous year, “this is a very significant result” considering the low yields and Read more
Francis appoints layperson as secretary of Vatican ‘central bank’
Thursday, June 18th, 2020Pope Francis has appointed Fabio Gasperini, a lay financial advisor, as secretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA). The 58-year-old Roman was named to the post, second highest at APSA, on June 15. He is the first layperson to get that position and succeeds Msgr. Mauro Rivella who completed his Read more
Mobster claims responsibility for Pope John Paul I death
Monday, October 21st, 2019
A Colombian gangster claims he was present in 1978 when Pope John Paul I was poisoned with cyanide. In a tell-all new book “When the Bullet Hits the Bone,” Anthony Raimondi (69) opens up about John Paul’s death after just 33 days in office. Raimondi says his co-conspirators killed the pope because John Paul I Read more
Making sense of the Vatican’s looming financial scandal
Thursday, October 10th, 2019
Last week, the Vatican released a mysterious statement acknowledging a raid by Vatican police on the offices of its Secretariat of State and of its financial watchdog agency, saying it was carried out by judicial order by the Vatican tribunal and with permission from unspecified “superiors.” The Secretariat of State is the most powerful department Read more
Pope signs new statutes for Vatican bank reforms
Monday, August 12th, 2019
Pope Francis’s reforms to the Vatican Bank and attempts to restore its ethical credentials include new statutes. On Saturday Francis signed the new statutes and approved other changes to bolster the reforms that have cleaned out the once scandal-ridden institution. The reforms were initially launched by Francis’s predecessor Pope Benedict. Until Benedict and Francis sought Read more
Vatican bank reports decreased profits in 2018
Thursday, June 13th, 2019The Institute for the Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, made a profit of 17.5 million euros (about US$19.8 million) in 2018, just over half the profit reported in the previous year, according to its annual report. The bank, which had made a profit of 31.9 million euros in 2017, said Read more
Profits are down, ethics are up for Vatican bank
Thursday, May 24th, 2018
Profits are down for the Vatican bank. The Institute for Religious Works (commonly known as the Vatican bank) issued its annual report on Tuesday. The report says the bank earned 31.9 million euros in profits last year. This is about 7 million euros down from its 36 million euro-profit in 2016. The profits are returned Read more
The embezzlement trial for former Vatican bank CE starts
Thursday, May 10th, 2018The embezzlement trial for the former president of the Vatican bank began on Wednesday. Angelo Caloia and his former lawyer Gabriele Liuzzo (95) have been charged with embezzling 57 million euros ($68 million) in Vatican real estate sales. The case shows the Holy See’s willingness to prosecute shady financial deals that may have involved top Read more