Pope suppresses 2 Vatican foundations, creates another
July 26, 2023
Pope Francis has suppressed two Vatican foundations, the Good Samaritan Foundation and the Justice and Peace Foundation, and established the Van Thuân Foundation in their place.
The rescript, announced by Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, was dated July 3, and was approved during a July 3 papal audience with Cardinal Czerny. The rescript, however, was not made public until July 25, the day it went into effect.
Pope St. John Paul II founded the Good Samaritan Foundation in 2004 to provide relief to those who suffer from AIDS. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI established the Justice and Peace Foundation in memory of Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận (1928-2002) to assist people in impoverished nations and provide scholarships for students studying the Church’s social doctrine. Cardinal Văn Thuận was declared venerable in 2017.
In his announcement, Cardinal Czerny stated the Pope Francis delegated to him the authority to issue statutes for the new Van Thuân Foundation, and that the Pope ordered the assets of the suppressed foundations transferred to the new foundation. It is unclear whether the new foundation will have a purpose similar to the purposes for which donors gave funds to the suppressed foundations.
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Jul. 27, 2023 7:46 PM ET USA
"It is unclear whether the new foundation will have a purpose similar to the purposes for which donors gave funds to the suppressed foundations." Given the recent history of elimination and repurposing of many congregations, pontifical institutions, commissions, etc., it is highly doubtful that the new foundation will mimic the functioning and purposes of the defunct foundations. One has to wonder what will happen to all the donated money.