VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s economy czar says the Holy See’s finances are in better shape than he thought, revealing that hundreds of millions of euros were kept off the balance sheet and that reforms are forging ahead to make the Vatican “boringly successful.”
In a frank essay published Thursday in Britain’s The Catholic Herald, Cardinal George Pell outlined his vision for a Vatican that follows international accounting standards, is transparent and audited externally and uses its proceeds to help the poor.
Pope Francis was elected in 2013 on a mandate to get the Vatican’s finances in order after years of scandal at its bank and waste in its administration.
Pell was among the most vocal in calling for reform and was named by Francis to lead the new Secretariat for the Economy to oversee the process.
Pell disparaged the Vatican’s past practices of financial secrecy, defending fiefdoms and dragging its feet in implementing international anti-moneylaundering norms.
Pell didn’t say that the euros were unknown to Vatican authorities, just that they didn’t feature into the balance sheet.
