Vatican Observer: Francis' Opaque Finances Must Be Made Transparent
He wonders why Francis doesn't call a consistory, since "we don't recall a similar letter from the Holy Father to the cardinals to deal with this type of issue in public".
If the situation is as delicate as Francis' words suggest, then a consistory is a necessity. But Badilla notes that Francis, the hero of "synodality", "has never met with all the cardinals".
Among the more than 200 cardinals, the only ones close to Francis are those of the Council of Nine and a few others, but among them there are many who were close advisers for a while "but were then removed by Francis".
Badilla explains to Francis that, in the 21st century, he and the Holy See "can no longer simply talk about 'mission' when it comes to the budget, income and expenses" because, in this context, "mission" is a word "that can say everything, but also nothing".
In other words: "Spending without transparently explaining how the resources of the faithful are used is no longer acceptable".
These questions become even more complicated when one considers that under Francis several entities have been created of which it is unclear how they are financed, Badilla writes: "Scholas Occurrentes, Università del Senso, various foundations, the monstrously increased synodal expenses, the multiplication of spokesmen and press rooms, the small bureaucratic fiefdoms of the new dicasteries, thousands and thousands of unsold books piled up in the warehouses of the Vatican Publishing House, etc.".
In some Vatican offices, material goods are purchased but then left unused, sometimes without even removing the packaging: "In short, corruption and waste," writes Badilla.
In numerous dicasteries of the Holy See, before and after the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, which deals with the reorganisation of the Roman Curia, numerous 'experts' and 'consultants' were hired, with salaries or fees that were rather 'out of the ordinary'.
In addition, for some years now the Vatican has been hiring expensive outside firms to provide advice, audits or reports.
According to Badilla, this outsourcing could be carried out within the Vatican.
The cost of these operations is very high and it seems that other new external services have already been contracted in the context of the Jubilee 2025.
For Badilla, there is only one question: "The holy, faithful people of God of the 21st century want to know how the money is spent, where the money is invested, where the money comes from and how the money is managed".
"In this context, the holy and faithful People of God want to know how the so-called reforms mentioned in Francis' letter to the cardinals are actually progressing."
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