The Vatican has announced a criminal investigation into two journalists who have written books based on leaked papers relating to the Holy See’s finances. A statement from Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, said the Vatican’s police force had reported the activities of Gianluigi Nuzzi and Emiliano Fittipaldi to the city state’s prosecutors. This was Read more
Pope Francis has named former Deloitte, Italy, chairman Libero Milone as the Vatican’s new auditor general. Under statutes approved by the Pope earlier this year, the auditor general will have the power to audit the books of any Vatican office. He will report directly to the Pope. Having an independent auditor helps ensure the “separation Read more
A member of the Pope’s commission to protect minors has expressed concern that Cardinal George Pell is in charge of the body’s finances. Peter Saunders had previously called on the Pope to sack the cardinal, following accusations that resurfaced at a royal commission hearing in Ballarat. Cardinal Pell has repeatedly denied claims that he moved Read more
Pope Francis has moved to confirm the authority of Cardinal George Pell in cleaning up the Vatican’s finances. In a new set of legislative norms approved by the Pope, the Secretariat for the Economy, headed by Cardinal Pell, has been given sweeping powers. Francis appears to have largely put aside recommendations from the Pontifical Council Read more
The Vatican has more than US$1.5 billion in assets that it didn’t previously know it had, bringing its total assets to more than US$3billion. Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican’s secretary for the economy, told cardinals last week that $0.5 billion in assets had been purposefully excluded from a 2013 overall balance sheet. And US$1billion should Read more
The Vatican’s murky finances have been spotlighted again by economy secretariat head, Cardinal George Pell. Late last week, at a news conference, Cardinal Pell said hundreds of millions of euros had been found, squirrelled away in various Holy See departments. The millions did not appear on the Vatican’s statements of financial position. Pell was quick Read more
The Vatican buys 500 packages of cigarettes a month, according to a new report on its financial affairs. In a letter to Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, an official of the Vatican governate reported the purchases. Cardinals serving at the Vatican have been receiving a 20 per cent discount on Read more
The Vatican’s financial situation was not well understood for years by the committee that was supposed to oversee it. That was what the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal George Pell, said at a function in Rome last week. Cardinal Pell recalled how he sat for several years on a 15-member committee of Read more
The wildly popular Pope Francis is more than a pontiff of the people. He’s an elite manager who’s reforming the Vatican’s troubled finances. The new pope wanted to talk about money. That was the message that went out to a group of seven prominent financiers—major Catholics all—from around the world in the summer of 2013. Read more
The Vatican this week announced it had hired an international accounting firm to audit its finances. The Vatican said that EY, formerly known as Ernst & Young, will “verify and consult” on the economic activity of the Vatican City State administration, which controls the money-making Vatican Museums, post office and tax-free department store. A Reuters Read more