Francis’ reforms of the Vatican’s Curia, outlined in his long-awaited apostolic constitution, “Praedicate Evangelium,” released last month, are in need of a bit more “polishing,” but “even the most critical observers say disaster has been avoided,” Pell said at “Real Estate and the New Evangelization,” an event organized by Notre Dame University and the Global Institute of Church Management in Rome.
The Vatican has been faced with a growing deficit every year, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to its 2022 financial projections, the Catholic institution faces a $37 million deficit, mostly due to diminishing donations as faithful soured over recent financial scandals.
“Even if moral culpability cannot be proved among any of the Vatican personnel involved, responsibility for the incompetence must be acknowledged," Pell noted.
According to Pell, the Vatican will face “serious inescapable challenges” in the coming decades. While Francis’ efforts have significantly improved the economic situation at the Vatican, the cardinal said, “we cannot afford to lose another 500 million though incompetence or corruption in the next 40 years.”
The cardinal offered financial tips to address the financial situation at the Vatican: “Avoid cooperating with banks and financial agents who have a well-established reputation for shadiness,” he said. “It is a prudential option that has been avoided by the Vatican for 40 years at least.”
Read the rest at Religion News Service.
Cardinal Pell was a keynote speaker at our 2022 conference in Rome: Real Estate and The New Evangelization. Co-hosted with the Fitzgerald Institute For Real Estate at Notre Dame University, we hosted many experts in the field who are currently working on the ground to reimagine and revitalize Church properties in ways that better serve our apostolic and evangelical needs, while providing much-needed revenue for the Church and their ministries.
