Australian Cardinal to head new Vatican finance department

Cardinal Pell

Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal George Pell to head a new Vatican department that will supervise the Holy See's economic affairs, Pope Francis announced in an Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio on Monday.

In his new role of Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, the current Archbishop of Sydney will be responsible for preparing the Holy See and Vatican's annual budget, as well as financial planning and enhanced internal controls.

The new ministry comes in the wake of a number of scandals at the Vatican bank.

"The Holy Father today announced a new coordination structure for economic and administrative affairs of the Holy See and the Vatican State," it said in a statement.

The Vatican said the move follows recommendations made by cardinals advising the Pope including for a 'more formal commitment' to international standards. The changes 'will ensure better use of resources, improving the support available for various programs, particularly our works with the poor,' it said.

The new ministry, formally a 'Secretariat for the Economy', will be governed by a 15-member council of eight clergymen from different parts of the world and seven lay international financial sector experts.

Pope Francis will also nominate a general auditor with broader powers to oversee all Vatican departments.

Cardinal Pell, 72, is one of eight cardinals appointed by Pope Francis to advise him on how to reform the Church.

The full text of Pope Francis' Apostolic Letter issued Motu proprio, follows below:

Fidelis et dispensator Prudens and dated today, 24 February.

Like a faithful and prudent manager who has the task of carefully looking after what has been entrusted to him, the Church is aware of her responsibility to protect and manage her assets, in the light of her mission of evangelisation and with particular care for those in need. In a special way, the management of the economic and financial sectors of the Holy See is intimately linked to its specific mission, not only in the service of the universal ministry of the Holy Father, but also in relation to the common good, with a view to the full development of the human person.

After having carefully consulted the results of the work of the Commission for Reference on the the Organisation of the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See (cf. Chirograph of 18 July 2013), and after consultation with the Council of Cardinals for the
reform of the Apostolic Constitution 'Pastor Bonus' and with the Council of Cardinals for the study of economic and administrative problems of the Holy See, by this Apostolic Letter issued Motu proprio, I adopt the following measures:

COUNCIL FOR THE ECONOMY

1. The Council for the Economy is hereby instituted, with the task of offering guidance on economic management and supervising the structures and the administrative and financial activities of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, of the Institutions connected to the Holy See, and of Vatican City State.

2. The Council for the Economy is composed of fifteen members, eight of whom are nominated from among the Cardinals and Bishops in order to reflect the universality of the Church, and seven of whom are lay experts of various nationalities, with recognised professional financial competences.

3. The Council for the Economy shall be presided over by a Cardinal coordinator.

SECRETARIAT FOR THE ECONOMY

4. The Secretariat for the Economy is hereby instituted, as a Dicastery of the Roman Curia in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution 'Pastor Bonus'.

5. Notwithstanding the provisions for the Council for the Economy, the Secretariat will report directly to the Holy Father and will undertake the economic audit and supervision of the Bodies indicated in point 1 above, along with the policies and procedures regarding procurement and the allocation of human resources, respecting the competences of each Body. The competence of the Secretariat will extend to all matters that in any way fall within this area.

6. The Secretariat for the Economy shall be presided over by a Cardinal Prefect, who shall collaborate with the Secretary of State. A Prelate Secretary General will assist the Cardinal Prefect.

AUDITOR GENERAL

7. The Auditor-General shall be appointed by the Holy Father and shall prepare the audit of the accounts of the Bodies referred to in point 1.

THE STATUTES

8. The Cardinal Prefect shall be responsible for drawing up the definitive Statues of the Council for the Economy, the Secretariat for the Economy, and the Office of the Auditor-General. The Statutes shall be presented quam primum for approval by the Holy Father.

I dispose that all that is established herein have immediate, full and permanent value, abrogating any incompatible measures, and that the present Apostolic Letter issued Motu proprio be published in the Osservatore Romano of 24 February 2014 and subsequently in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

Given in Rome, St Peter's, on 24 February of the year 2014, the first of my Pontificate.

Source: VIS