VATICAN CITY
Catholic Philly
BY CAROL GLATZ
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — New rules governing the guidance, oversight and control of Vatican financial and administrative activities include the power to levy sanctions and take “civil or criminal action” in cases of “damage to assets,” as well as providing protection for whistleblowers raising red flags about “anomalous activity.”
The provisions were detailed in separate statutes for the Council for the Economy, the Secretariat for the Economy and a “general auditor’s office,” which will be staffed by three lay experts.
The Vatican published the new statutes in Italian on its web site March 3; they went into effect March 1. Pope Francis approved the statutes “ad experimentum” (on a trial basis) for an unspecified period of time.
The establishment of the council and secretariat were announced in February 2014. Officials said it took a full year to develop the statutes because they had to be reviewed by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts. A key issue reportedly was to ensure adequate checks and balances.
The statutes officially define the nature, role, responsibilities and organizational structure of each of the three bodies; outline channels of command and accountability; designate English and Italian as the new offices’ working languages; and emphasize the need to keep data and documents confidential.
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