Bureaucratic infighting at Vatican raising questions about financial reforms

July 25, 2016

Edward Pentin of the National Catholic Register provides some details of the infighting over Vatican economic reforms, and the results of that struggle-- which appear to have significantly decreased the authority of the Secretariat for the Economy.

Pentin notes that Cardinal George Pell, the reform-minded prefect of that Secretariat, was not informed in advance about the motu proprio released earlier this month, removing the power of his new office to supervise the administration of the Vatican's financial assets. The cardinal had also been taken by surprise earlier, when an external audit of Vatican finances was curtailed. These steps-- and the lack of coordination with the Secretariat for the Economy-- point to a marked decline in the power of Cardinal Pell's office to pursue financial reforms. 

The entrenched opposition to financial disclosures has been strong within the offices of the Vatican, Pentin reports. “There’s a certain fearlessness in these people who feel impervious to scrutiny,” one anonymous source says.

 

 

 

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Further information:

• What’s Underneath the Vatican Power Struggle Over Economic Reforms (National Catholic Register)
• Pope cuts back authority of Secretariat for Economy (CWN, 7/11)