The Holy See: Need for transparency and regulations to administer economic affairs

(Vatican Radio) The Holy See has reaffirmed its desire to develop transparency in the administration of its economic resources and affairs but says new regulations are necessary to achieve this goal. This was the message spelt out by Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, President of the Holy See’s Prefecture for Economic Affairs at a news conference in the Vatican during which he outlined to journalists the functions of this Prefecture in the light of new regulations for it promulgated earlier this year. The new regulations are based on recommendations from a special council of Cardinals appointed to study the organisational and economic problems of the Holy See.

Cardinal Versaldi told journalists that this need for revised regulations has not come about because "we don’t trust people but because even the best person can be led into temptation and that’s why we need control mechanisms" to guarantee truth and justice without forgetting charity. The Cardinal said the new regulations stress that the Prefecture’s function is not just one of watching over and checking the Holy See’s economic affairs but also of playing a leadership role in guiding and running the entire economy of the Holy See.

Another speaker at the press conference, Monsignor Lucio Balda, Secretary of the Prefecture, revealed that the Holy See’s budget is still operating at a loss and obviously is feeling the effects of the global financial crisis given that it relies on donations from the faithful. We must cut costs and unnecessary expenses, he said, but at the same time, we must guarantee the salaries and pensions of those working for the Holy See.