Vatican clarifies: off-budget accounts were not corrupt

December 05, 2014

The “hundreds of millions of euros” in off-budget Vatican transactions discovered by the Secretariat for the Economy were not illicit expenses, the Vatican’s chief spokesman told reporters at a December 5 briefing.

Cardinal George Pell, the head of the Secretariat for the Economy, had reported that his new office had found many accounts that were not included in the Vatican’s official budget sheet. But Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, observed that “Cardinal Pell did not speak of illegal or mismanaged funds, but of funds that were not in the official accounts of the Holy See and Vatican City State.”

The off-budget expenses were incurred by various Vatican agencies that had handled their own spending. The Secretariat for the Economy was established to bring that spending under central management and ensure transparency in financial dealings.

Father Lombardi said that the Secretariat for the Economy had discovered the off-budget expenses during a thorough review, with which all Vatican agencies cooperated. That study, he argued, was a “sign and fruit of constructive cooperation among the different institutions of the Vatican.”

 

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Further information:

• Fr Lombardi SJ makes clarification on Vatican finance reform (Vatican Radio)
• Secretariat for the Economy discovers 'hundreds of millions' of off-budget transactions at Vatican (CWN, 12/3)