VATICAN CITY
The Tablet (UK)
19 February 2015 12:02 by Christopher Lamb, Christa Pongratz-Lippitt
Clashes over reforms to Vatican finances took place this week following a meeting of cardinals after a detailed breakdown of the Holy See’s economic position was outlined.
Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, told a consistory of cardinals that a review of finances found a total of £978 million in assets and funds that had not been previously accounted for.
But Cardinal Reinhard Marx, President of the Council of the Economy, the body that has overarching responsibility for all the financial activity of the Holy See and to which the secretariat reports, questioned the wisdom of releasing of the figures.
“Such figures are not very helpful and I personally am always reticent about quoting figures. Assets figures only make sense if I connect them to the obligations I have,” he said in an interview with the German Catholic News Agency. “Up to now it was not usual and to a certain extent impossible to conduct a real overall budget which was up to international standards. That must change.”
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