The profit was close to 6 million euros less than what the investments earned in 2021, the bishop said in the annual report of the administration, which is known by its Italian acronym, APSA, and controls most of the Vatican's portfolio, including real estate.

"Transparency of numbers, achievements and defined procedures is one of the tools we have at our disposal to ward off — at least in those who are free of preconceptions — unfounded suspicions regarding the extent of the church's assets, its administration or the fulfilment of the duties of justice, such as payment of due taxes and other tributes," the bishop wrote in his introduction to the 104-page report, which was published in early August.

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The policy requires Vatican departments to close investment accounts held in foreign banks and transfer them to the Vatican.

The new policy was approved by Pope Francis and signed by Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. It will go into effect on an experimental basis for five years beginning on 1 September.

The new rules will ensure that investments will contribute "to a more just and sustainable world" and protect "the real value of the Holy See's net worth and generate a sufficient return to sustainably contribute to the financing of its activities," said a statement published on 19 July by the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy.

"The decision to invest in one place rather than another, in one productive sector rather than another, is always a moral and cultural choice," one of the principles of the 20-page Investment Policy Statement (IPS) says.

The Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA) will oversee the Vatican-based investments, estimated at just under 2 billion euros (NZ$3.28 billion).

The IPS is a radical overhaul after years of financial scandals. It strips all Vatican departments of the ability to invest their funds independently.

The existing practice allowed the Secretariat of State to invest directly in a London building at the centre of a corruption trial. The botched deal resulted in a loss of 140 million euros. All the defendants have denied wrongdoing.

"The fundamental objective is to discipline investments and centralise them," said a senior Vatican official, speaking anonymously. "It is more organised, more controlled, more transparent, definitely a step forward."

Discussing finances in an interview with Reuters this month, Pope Francis gave the example of priests who had no financial experience being asked to manage the finances of a department and who, in good faith, sought outside help from friends in the outside financial sector.

"But sometimes the friends were not The Blessed Imelda" the pope said, referring to a 14th-century 11-year-old Italian girl who is a symbol of childhood purity.

Francis blamed "the irresponsibility of the structure" for past financial scandals.

Sources

Reuters

America Magazine

CathNews NZ

While most Vatican offices reduced costs, the Congregations for Eastern Churches and for Evangelization of Peoples significantly increased giving to struggling church communities.

The Vatican said the coronavirus pandemic had a severe negative impact on the Vatican's financial situation, including the deficit in the consolidated budget report for 2020.

Releasing the Vatican consolidate budget report for 2020, Fr Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, prefect of Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, said, "We come from a culture of secrecy, but we have learned that in economic matters transparency protects us more than secrecy."

The coronavirus pandemic "has given us the possibility of being able to provide additional help at a difficult moment for all humanity, thus making the church present in areas with fewer resources to deal with the pandemic," Father Guerrero said.

On the same day, the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See (APSA), which administers Vatican properties and investments, made a summary of its annual budget public for the first time.

APSA reported 14% of Vatican properties they administer are rented at market rates and fund Vatican work and charity.

The remaining 86% is used by Vatican offices or provides housing for cardinals, Vatican employees and retirees. Most of the latter are rented at below-market rates.

In an interview with Vatican News, Bishop Nunzio Galantino, president of APSA, said making the budget synthesis public was "a step forward in the direction of transparency and sharing."

"The release of the balance sheet is a sign of great respect for all those who, with trust and generosity, have placed and continue to place part of their resources in the hands of the Catholic Church," Bishop Galantino said.

"I harbor a secret hope: I hope that the publication and reading of the numbers and the important notes that accompany them will foster more correct and complete information," he added.

Fr Guerrero does not appear discouraged with the budget deficit. "The budgeted expenses for 2021 are the lowest in the recent history of the Holy See. But the savings have been made without diminishing service to the Pope's mission and protecting the salaries and jobs of employees. The support of the faithful is needed."

"The economic situation was worse, but the mission expanded. This is further proof that the criteria driving the church are not economic," Guerrero concluded.

Sources

Catholic News

Vatican News