The Vatican's first auditor-general, Libero Milone, said "At his funeral, at his casket, I promised him that we would seek out the truth".

Milone added that Pell's success in overturning his convictions demonstrated that "some judicial systems are efficient and effective".

Cardinal Pell, a key figure in Pope Francis's financial reform efforts, died on 10 January 2023 at the Salvator Mundi Hospital in Rome.

Pell's unexpected death hours after surgery has raised questions among Vatican observers and close associates.

Several unusual circumstances have fuelled speculation surrounding Cardinal Pell's death:

• The cardinal's casket was closed during the funeral, preventing mourners from participating in the traditional farewell touch or kiss
• Reports have emerged suggesting that internal CCTV cameras at the hospital were not functioning on the day of Pell's death, raising questions about the monitoring of his care
• Additionally, claims have surfaced that no medical doctor was on duty the evening the cardinal died, potentially compromising the level of medical attention he received

Adding to the intrigue, at least two cardinals, close friends of Pell, had urged him to return to Australia for his surgery, expressing concerns about his safety in Rome. However, Pell insisted on staying, determined to address his fellow cardinals in pre-conclave meetings despite being too old to vote.

Sudden and mysterious

Milone shared his concerns as he prepared for an appeal hearing regarding his controversial dismissal in 2017.

Libero Milone is the last surviving member of the high-powered trio that initiated Pope Francis's financial reforms.

Milone and his deputy, Ferruccio Panicco, were abruptly fired in June 2017, just days before Cardinal Pell had to return to Australia to face child sexual abuse charges.

The circumstances surrounding the pair's dismissal were mysterious. Vatican police raided Milone's office and confiscated electronic equipment.

The former auditor-general and Panicco sued the Vatican for wrongful dismissal in 2022, seeking over €9m in compensation. However the Vatican court rejected the claim in January 2024, leading to the current appeal.

Panicco passed away in 2023.

Sources

The Australian

Katholisch

CathNews New Zealand

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 Francis and his predecessor, the late Pope Benedict XVI, implemented significant changes to enhance transparency and efficiency in the Catholic institution's financial dealings.

Pope Francis consolidated all financial assets of the Holy See within the Institute for Religious Works in August 2022, promoting centralisation.

The report emphasised that the Institute for Religious Works is deeply committed to managing assets in line with the principles of the Catholic faith.

It declared, "The high standards achieved by the IOR in asset management amply confirm the choice made."

Furthermore, the statement added that the bank's core capital and liquidity contribute to its status as "one of the strongest financial institutions in the world."

Conviction of former Vatican bank president

Over the past few decades, the Vatican has made concerted efforts to restore the credibility of its financial institution, which aims primarily to securely distribute the church's wealth for its numerous global missions.

However, it has faced challenges, including the conviction of the former president of the Vatican bank, Angelo Caloia, for money laundering related to an obscure real estate investment.

In 2019, new leadership at the Vatican bank flagged a suspicious loan request of 150 million euros for a real estate investment in London's Chelsea district.

This transaction now forms the core of a Vatican trial involving ten individuals, including Vatican officials, who face money laundering and corruption charges.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Vatican media, Monsignor Battista Ricca, a prelate at the Vatican bank, acknowledged that the institute is an integral part of a larger entity—the Holy See.

"This realisation has greatly reduced the idea of acting independently and of being able to operate free from any rule. Also, the spectre of the genuine disasters committed in the past is always there to keep us on the alert," Msgr Ricca added.

Sources

Religion News

National Catholic Reporter

CathNews New Zealand

A new law aims to bring the Holy See into further compliance with recommendations from the Council of Europe's Moneyval committee, which in April 2021 flagged as problematic the lack of an overarching law governing the creation and administration of foundations registered in Vatican City.

Such foundations draw donations from the faithful, but until recently, they had little oversight or accountability.

The new law lays out strict governance, administrative and accounting regulations that put the foundations under the ultimate oversight of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Economy, with their books subject to review by the office of the auditor general.

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The policy requires Vatican departments to close investment accounts held in foreign banks and transfer them to the Vatican.

The new policy was approved by Pope Francis and signed by Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. It will go into effect on an experimental basis for five years beginning on 1 September.

The new rules will ensure that investments will contribute "to a more just and sustainable world" and protect "the real value of the Holy See's net worth and generate a sufficient return to sustainably contribute to the financing of its activities," said a statement published on 19 July by the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy.

"The decision to invest in one place rather than another, in one productive sector rather than another, is always a moral and cultural choice," one of the principles of the 20-page Investment Policy Statement (IPS) says.

The Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA) will oversee the Vatican-based investments, estimated at just under 2 billion euros (NZ$3.28 billion).

The IPS is a radical overhaul after years of financial scandals. It strips all Vatican departments of the ability to invest their funds independently.

The existing practice allowed the Secretariat of State to invest directly in a London building at the centre of a corruption trial. The botched deal resulted in a loss of 140 million euros. All the defendants have denied wrongdoing.

"The fundamental objective is to discipline investments and centralise them," said a senior Vatican official, speaking anonymously. "It is more organised, more controlled, more transparent, definitely a step forward."

Discussing finances in an interview with Reuters this month, Pope Francis gave the example of priests who had no financial experience being asked to manage the finances of a department and who, in good faith, sought outside help from friends in the outside financial sector.

"But sometimes the friends were not The Blessed Imelda" the pope said, referring to a 14th-century 11-year-old Italian girl who is a symbol of childhood purity.

Francis blamed "the irresponsibility of the structure" for past financial scandals.

Sources

Reuters

America Magazine

CathNews NZ

When Pope Francis decided to cut the pay of Vatican employees, lay and religious, in late March, it was mostly welcomed as a positive effort to rein in the institution's struggling finances.

According to the Vatican's budget for 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has put further strain on its finances, risking a deficit of $60 million. Mismanagement and corruption have undercut the Vatican's financial stability and reputation worldwide for decades.

Pope Francis' reform efforts have attempted to reduce the economic hemorrhage. This has been compounded by dwindling donations from the faithful and months of closure for the institution's biggest moneymaker, the Vatican Museums.

The March 24 papal decree cut the pay of Vatican cardinals by 10% and decreased salaries for the heads of Vatican departments and secretaries by 8%. This was actioned "according to criteria of proportionality and progressivity." Also, all seniority-linked salary raises were blocked until 2023.

The papal decision was made in an effort to "safeguard existing jobs."

But for the disgruntled Vatican employees, the decision unfairly targets lay employees with seniority who have been financially struggling due to the pandemic.

Francis' document, they wrote, together with the increased level of work responsibility and the lack of options for working remotely, "only aggravate the working conditions of Vatican employees."

"We cannot fail, Your Holiness, to mention the concept of 'just reward' which is spoken of in the Gospel of Matthew," they continue. "How much more will we have to sacrifice to pay for a budget deficit that certainly doesn't derive from our wrongdoing?"

The letters writers also resent what they say are exceptionally high wages and perks given to "lay managers."

The lay managers contracts "arouse amazement" for their high salaries, some as much as €25,000 ($30,565 U.S.) a month. They add that these lay managers "can count on a number of exceptional benefits," including rent-free Vatican-owned apartments, as well as "cars for private use, discounts on purchases, dedicated secretaries, and the reimbursement of various expenses."

The letter's authors conclude by calling for the creation of a "more encouraging and less punitive system for Vatican employees." They also suggest having a "serious reflection" on creating a human resources department and the "implementation of structural reform."

The letter's authors write in closing: "Certain of your understanding and allowing us to propose that a small delegation of us meet you, we avail ourselves of the opportunity to confirm a sense of deep esteem."

Sources

National Catholic Register

Washington Post

His decision was endorsed by financial authorities at the Institute for Works of Religion, commonly called the Vatican Bank or IOR.

Despite this, the loan was subsequently approved by the Holy See's central bank, APSA - possibly breaching international regulatory agreements.

Commenting on the situation, several Vatican officials say in 2014 Angelo Becciu and Giuseppe Versald were the cardinals who asked the IOR for the loan.

The loan would fund a for-profit partnership between the Holy See's Secretariat of State and a religious order, to buy the order's bankrupt Italian hospital.

The religious order had formed a new organisation with the Vatican Secretariat as its partner, in a bid to unburden itself from the hospital's massive debts.

The loan proposal was rejected in 2015, when the IOR board decided the order would never be able to repay the loan.

Pell was reportedly vocally opposed to the loan proposal.

The cardinals then made a similar loan request to APSA, the Vatican's central bank.

While APSA was considering the loan, Pell's office, which oversaw APSA'S s portfolio, refused to sign off the transaction.

Nonetheless, the loan proceeded, possibly violating APSA's international regulatory agreements.

A senior source at APSA says "there was no taking ‘no' for an answer," and that Versaldi and Becciu "passionately" insisted on the deal.

Becciu and Versaldi are said to have approached APSA for the loan because the bank had already shown itself resistant to the Vatican's financial reforms.

The Secretariat of State, where Becciu was the second-ranking official, was also reportedly resistant to Pell's efforts at financial transparency and reform.

After conflict over the loan, Pope Francis withdrew oversight authority over APSA's investment decisions from Pell's office. Multiple Vatican sources say that decision was strongly influenced by lobbying from Becciu.

Becciu was also responsible for cancelling a proposed external audit of all Vatican finances by PricewaterhouseCooper.

He also opposed Pell's intention to end the practice of keeping some Holy See assets and funds "off books."

The excuse they gave for objecting to the external audit was "because of the confidentiality required to conduct their work".

Senior sources at the Prefecture for the Economy and APSA say the cancellation of the audit was also explained, in part, by promises that an independent audit of APSA was already planned.

Sources at APSA and the Prefecture say no audits have been conducted.

Instead, there has been a "good faith undertaking" between APSA and the Vatican's Financial Information Authority.

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Kelso Lawyers

The profits, which are up €20 million from the €16.1 million in the 2015 year, are "being distributed in aid of the Holy See's mission".

More properly called the Institute for the Works of Religion, the Vatican bank's report also records billions in deposits and investments and a decrease in expenses.

The bank says the €4 million reduction in expenses is a result of them "rationalising" outside contractors.

The strong end-of-year results offer a positive view of Pope Francis's Vatican financial reforms.

Australian Cardinal George Pell leads these reforms as the Vatican's Prefect of the Secretariat of the Economy.

Soon after his appointment in 2014, Pell announced a new management of the bank, appointing billionaire hedge fund guru Michael Hintze to its board.

Pell's role also included ridding the bank of illegal practices such as money laundering.

The bank's latest report says these practices have more than halved thanks to the strongly vigilant regime Pell introduced.

Thousands of accounts have been closed and strict new rules introduced in regards to who can hold an account with the bank.

Although the bank provides a deposit account and manages €5.7 billion worth of assets, it does not issue loans.

The financial statements were audited by Deloitte & Touche and reviewed by the Commission of Cardinals that oversees the Vatican bank's work before the report was released.

Source

• Catholic Herald
• The Tablet
• Image: The Australian

"I can assure you that no reserved documents ever passed from my hands," Chaouqui said. "Never, never," she during her testimony at the resumption of the trial that centered on the publication of two books based on leaked documents.

Chaouqui said she only gave journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi an invitation to a Vatican reception and a collection of newspaper clippings.

Nuzzi's book, "Merchants in the Temple," and Emiliano Fittipaldi's "Avarice" depict a Vatican plagued by financial irregularities.

Chaouqui is on trial along with Monsignor Vallejo Balda, Nicola Maio, the monsignor's former assistant, Nuzzi, and Fittipaldi.

Balda, Chaouqui, and Maio have been accused of "committing several illegal acts of divulging news and documents concerning fundamental interests of the Holy See."

Nuzzi and Fittipaldi were accused of "soliciting and exercising pressure, especially on Vallejo Balda, in order to obtain confidential documents and news."

Sources

ABC News
Catholic Herald
Daily Mail
Image: Catholic Herald

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.

Barely five months after the shocking resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis had summoned them to assemble at the seat of holy power, the Vatican.

They knew their general assignment: to create a plan to restructure the Vatican's scandal-plagued finances.

And like Catholics everywhere, they knew that Francis had already signaled that he was a new kind of pontiff, a "people's pope" who championed charity and tolerance over dogma.

Still, they didn't know what to expect when they arrived at the Vatican for a meeting with the pope on the first Saturday in August.

How interested was he in finance, really? And how serious was he about changing business as usual inside the Vatican?

A major hint came from a change in tradition upon their arrival: The visitors didn't report to the Apostolic Palace, the Renaissance showplace where for centuries past popes had received visitors in high style.

Instead they entered Vatican City on the other side of the colonnade of St. Peter's Square and took a 150-yard stroll through the hilly enclave to the new pope's place of business—Casa Santa Marta, a five-story limestone guesthouse that could be mistaken for a newish hotel.

There they were ushered into a nondescript meeting room on the first floor with no paintings or religious ornaments and took their seats around a conference table.

The members—including Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, ex-chief of asset-management giant Invesco in Europe; Jochen Messemer, a top executive at ERGO, a large German insurer; and George Yeo, former foreign minister of Singapore—chatted nervously as they waited. Continue reading

Sources

• Fortune
• Image: Face n Facts