The donations to Peter's Pence are received in three primary forms:

1. The collection taken up in churches worldwide on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. These are subsequently forwarded to the Holy See by Italian dioceses and, via the Pontifical Representations, from overseas dioceses.
2. Direct offerings sent through bank and postal account transfers, checks, or through the website with credit cards and PayPal.
3. Bequests from inheritances.

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Donations dipped slightly from 44.4 million euros in 2021. The fund's income is more than double that of 2021, when 46.9 million euros came in. Expenses borne by the fund amounted to €95.5 million.

According to the 2022 report, the contributions granted by Peter's Pence in 2022 amounted to €93.8 million, serving two main purposes "funding the activities of service carried out by the Holy See's dicasteries, entities, and bodies," and promoting "charity initiatives for those in need."

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He made the comment when the Secretariat released the 2019 balance sheet for the Roman Curia last Thursday.

"We want the budget to explain how the Holy See uses its resources to carry out its mission," he added.

The balance sheet provides the Vatican's most detailed-ever financial figures.

His comments were made a week after the resignation of Cardinal Angelo Becciu from the Roman Curia, after over a year of new reports of various financial scandals involving Becciu and the Holy See's Secretariat of State.

Guerrero says he "reads the newspapers" and that "it is possible that, in some cases, the Holy See was not only badly advised but also cheated.

"I believe we are learning from past mistakes or recklessness," he said.

The Vatican may have been swindled before by unscrupulous dealings, but being like a house of glass would provide some assurance to the faithful that the Holy See's finances were being well-managed.

The balance sheet's publication coincides with an onsite financial inspection by Moneyval, the Council of Europe's anti-money laundering watchdog.

It is expected that the evaluation will look at the role of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA).

APSA is the Holy See treasury and sovereign wealth manager. It also administers payroll and operating expenses for Vatican City.

In 2018, Pope Francis asked for Vatican investments to be centralized under APSAs management.

Guerrero says work to centralise the investments in APSA is advancing "little by little."

He says in April he asked all dicasteries transfer their liquid assets to APSA, in anticipation of revenue loss due to Italy's coronavirus lockdown.

The following month, Guerrero said the Vatican forecast a reduction in income of between 30 percent and 80 percent for the next fiscal year as a result of the pandemic.

The Vatican's financial report for 2019, which was released on 1 October, shows the expenditure of 60 curial offices for 2019 was 318 million euros and its income was 307 million euros.

The report says the 11 million-euro deficit is smaller than the 2018 deficit because of 68 million euros in investment returns. The increase was "mostly attributable to the effect of the recovery of share prices in 2019," the report explains.

Financial statements for other Vatican entities which collaborate with the Holy See are not included in the report.

These entities include the governorate of Vatican City State and Peter's Pence, the pope's charitable fund which comes from an annual Church-wide collection.

These institutions and others present their results and report to the corresponding authorities.

The balance sheet shows overall income and expenditure figures for 2019 and a breakdown of how much went to each curial department.

Expense categories are listed as apostolic mission, assets management, and services and administration.

Source

• Reuters
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Vatican News

The Sardinian cardinal, who is now prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, was questioned about the investigation on Feb. 17 at a book presentation in Rome.

The investigation centers principally on the Secretariat of State's purchase of a prime London property in 2014 and Becciu seemed anxious to set the record straight.

The 71-year-old cardinal said funds from Peter's Pence, a collection taken up among all the world's Catholics each June 29, were not directly used in the purchase. Read more

Nearly a month after private documents about a property deal involving the Vatican leaked to the press, Becciu explained his side of the story.

The Peter's Pence collection "is not only for the pope's charity but also for the sustenance of his pastoral ministry," he said.

Accusations abut his misuse of the fund for investments instead of direct aid to the poor are "muddy accusations that I firmly and disdainfully reject," he said.

"I have a clear conscience and I know that I have always acted in the interest of the Holy See and never in my personal interest. Those who know me closely can attest to that."

Stories about Becciu's involvement in investment in a property in London have been circulating for the past month, after the Vatican police raided offices in the Secretariat of State and its financial oversight office on 1 October.

On 2 October, Italian magazine L'Espresso published what it claimed to be an internal notice from the Vatican police about the "cautionary suspension" of five individuals.

Those individuals included Tomasso Di Ruzza, who is the director of the Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF).

L'Espresso said the raid was part of a Vatican investigation into how the Secretariat of State used $200 million to finance a property development project in the Chelsea district of London in 2014.

However, a fortnight ago, the Vatican said an internal investigation revealed that neither Di Ruzza "nor any other employee of AIF improperly exercised his authority or engaged in any other wrongdoing."

Becciu served as substitute secretary for general affairs in the Vatican Secretariat of State from 2011 to 2018.

According to the leaked documents, the Vatican Secretariat of State eventually purchased a majority stake in the London property in 2018 and incurred debts from the failed project.

The Vatican press office has not made any comments about L'Espresso's report. Nor has the Vatican press office clarified the nature of the alleged financial transactions or people being investigated.

However, last week Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who is the Vatican secretary of state, said while Peter's Pence is administered well, the London property investment was opaque - a description Becciu questions.

The Peter's Pence website shows it collects donations from a world-wide collection taken at the end of June each year.

The money is then used to "sustain the work of evangelization and, at the same time, to help the poor in whatever way is possible."

Source

• National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Zenit

The funds will be distributed between 27 projects associated with 16 Mexican dioceses and congregations.

All of them have asked for help to continue providing food, lodging and other basic necessities to those fleeing their home countries through Mexico.

"In recent months, thousands of migrants have arrived in Mexico, having travelled more than 4,000 kilometres on foot and with makeshift vehicles from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

"Men and women, often with young children, flee poverty and violence, hoping for a better future in the United States. However, the US border remains closed to them," says a press release from Peter's Pence, the organisation handling the funds.

The money is targeted to help the 75,000 migrants who arrived in Mexico last year as part of six caravans.

"All these people were stranded, unable to enter the United States, without a home or livelihood. The Catholic Church hosts thousands of them in hotels within the dioceses or religious congregations, providing basic necessities from housing to clothing," Peter's Pence says.

Although a great deal of attention was focused on the caravans at the time, the Peter's Pence statement notes that "media coverage of this emergency has been decreasing and, as a result, aid to migrants by the government and private individuals has also decreased".

The statement from Peter's Pence insists that "a regulated and transparent use of the resources, which must be accounted for, is required before the aid is assigned". It notes that thirteen projects have already been approved, with another fourteen currently being evaluated.

"Thanks to these projects", the statement concludes, "and thanks to Christian charity and solidarity, the Mexican Bishops hope to be able to continue helping our migrant brothers and sisters".

Source

• Vatican News
• ABC
• BBC

In its annual financial statement, the Holy See said better management had helped it recover from a loss of nearly $NZ25 million in the previous year.

But donations to the Peter's Pence collection, taken up worldwide for the support of the Holy See, declined by nearly 12 per cent to $NZ85.4 million.

Vatican City — which has its own city-state budget and profits from revenues of the Vatican Museums, post office and other attractions — showed a surplus of $NZ38 million, a slight increase on the previous year.

The board of the troubled Vatican Bank met on July 4 to consider the sudden resignation of its two top managers — who are now under investigation by Rome magistrates — and the arrest of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano on a money-smuggling charge.

A Reuters report said the bank's president, Ernst von Freyberg, told the meeting that a preliminary inquiry into Scaranio's activities had found "clear failings that should serve as stark reminder of the urgency of improving the [bank's] processes".

Scarano, 61, who worked as a senior accountant in the Vatican's financial administration and had close and regular contacts with the bank, was arrested along with an Italian secret service agent and a financial intermediary.

Reuters said Freyberg told the board that the bank would continue to improve internal procedures and review every account. "We will systematically identify and eradicate wrongdoing by clients of our institute," he said.

Meanwhile, the Financial Information Authority — a Vatican body established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to prevent money laundering and other illegal financial activities — announced that it had been admitted into the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.

Membership gives access to a global network of financial intelligence units and facilitates the exchange of information in the fight against financial crime. It also represents recognition of the Holy See/Vatican City State's efforts in tracking and fighting money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Sources:

Vatican Radio

Reuters

Catholic News Service

Image: Prokerala News

The Holy See finances for 2011 recorded a deficit of 14.9 million euros ($NZ22.9 million). Its budget covers the Vatican Secretariat of State and its worldwide diplomatic missions, Vatican congregations and pontifical councils.

The Vatican blamed the poor outcome on high personnel and communications costs and adverse market conditions, particularly for its real estate holdings.

The deficit in the Holy See finances was in spite of a 50 million ($NZ70 million) gift from the Vatican Bank and increased donations from dioceses and religious orders.

The Peter's Pence Collection — used by the Pope for charitable and emergency works, but not included in the Vatican's budget — showed an increase, from $US67.7 million ($NZ84.8 million) in 2010 to $US69.7 million ($NZ87.3 million) in 2011.

The biggest contributions to this fund come from the United States, Germany and Italy.

Meanwhile, the autonomous Vatican City State, which employs nearly 1900 people, recorded a surplus of 21.8 million euros ($NZ33.5 million).

The bulk of its income in 2011 came from the Vatican Museums, where increased visitor numbers — more than five million in 2011 — were encouraged by extended opening hours.

Among the expensive items covered by the Holy See finances are the communications operations of Vatican Radio, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano and Vatican television, which produce little or nothing in revenue.

Father Federico Lombardi, who runs the Vatican radio and television departments and is also the Vatican spokesman, said there are no plans to reduce the Holy See's 2832 staff, but that savings must come from elsewhere.

Sources:

Catholic News Service

Associated Press

Image: David Blackwell

The NZ$17.2 million profit was a turnaround from the previous year's NZ$7 million loss, and losses in the previous two years. The Vatican said the result showed a continuing positive trend which began in 2009, but was hampered by the impact of the global financial crisis.

The Vatican is putting the profit down to an upswing in the financial markets and an upturn in tourism and booming ticket sales at the Vatican Museums.

"Peter's Pence" donations from individuals world wide however dropped NZ$26 million.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Vatican officials believed the main reasons for the decrease in "Peter's Pence" donations were related to the lingering effects of the financial crisis on Catholics' ability to donate, and the fact that two donations of a few million dollars apiece from individuals in 2009 weren't repeated in 2010.

Lombardi said the effects of the abuse scandal on the Peter's Pence and the diocesan donations wasn't discussed in any depth during meetings Thursday and Friday of top cardinals to review the numbers. But he didn't dispute that such an interpretation of the results could be made.

Sources

• Washington Post
• Image: Hearmespeak