Pope Francis proposes 'popularism' to counter populism
- Apr 16, 2021
Australian Cardinal George Pell, formerly the Vatican’s top official on financial affairs, said he believes the pope’s recent reforms signal progress, and called for additional competent laypeople to be involved in the process.
A new law that removes financial assets from the control of the Vatican Secretariat of State is a step forward on the path of financial reform, said Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See.
Pope Francis has taken away away the power of the purse from the Secretariat of State, traditionally the Vatican’s 800-pound gorilla, and transferred it to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), the Vatican’s central bank. At the same time, he beefed up the oversight role of the Secretariat for the Economy.
Pope Francis has given the Vatican secretariat of state three months to transfer all of its financial holdings to another Vatican office following its bungled management of hundreds of millions of euros in donations and investments that are now the subject of a corruption investigation.
Monday’s encounter between Pope Francis and Australian Cardinal George Pell marked a vindication for the 79-year-old Australian prelate, but perhaps not a full resurgence.
The Vatican’s financial situation must be “a glass house” that displays transparency and honesty, letting Catholics know where its revenues come from and go, said the head of the Secretariat for the Economy.
In an exclusive interview prerecorded and aired at a U.S. conference, Cardinal George Pell reminded his audience how important the church in the U.S. is for world Catholicism and Western civilization.
Pope Francis has named a U.S.-based executive from Spain to be general secretary of the Secretariat for the Economy.