Le Monde Stirring Up Scandal Around Cardinal Elect

In 2007 the Mali Bishops' Conference held 12 Million Euros in seven accounts of a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, according to bank records leaked in 2015, writes the French paper Le Monde. At the time the person responsible for the Conference's finances was Archbishop Jean Zerbo, whom Pope Francis will create a cardinal in June. There are about 200,000 Catholics in Mali.

The general director of the tax office in Mali told Le Monde, that the accounts are not known to his office.

On May 14th, Le Monde confronted Archbishop Zerbo after a Mass. His answer, "I have a bank account in Switzerland? This means that I am rich without knowing it." Confronted with the details he explained that "this is an old account" inherited from the religious community Missionaries of Africa. Le Monde found out that the account is still operating.

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