The pope’s financial gospel and the Vatican bank

UPDATE: Yesterday it was the church and wealth. Today Pope Francis took aim at the shortcomings of the global economic system.

Addressing several new ambassadors to the Vatican, the pope said:

“The worship of the golden calf of old has found a new and heartless image in the cult of money and the dictatorship of an economy which is faceless and lacking any truly humane goal.

The worldwide financial and economic crisis seems to highlight their distortions and above all the gravely deficient human perspective, which reduces man to one of his needs alone, namely, consumption.”

The full test is here, and well worth reading. Yesterday, he spoke about the church and money.

“When a priest, a bishop goes after money, the people do not love him – and that’s a sign…. St. Paul did not have a bank account, he worked, and when a bishop, a priest goes on the road to vanity, he enters into the spirit of careerism – and this hurts the church very much – [and] ends up being ridiculous: he boasts, he is pleased to be seen, all powerful – and the people do not like that!”

The financial gospel of Pope Francis has become a little clearer every day, and these words from his morning Mass today in the Vatican guest house underline his conviction that the church’s pastors need to be true pastors – not business managers, CEOs or investment strategists.

The line about St. Paul not having a bank account, of course, brings to mind the Vatican bank and its future under the new pope. The bank has had more than its share of problems and scandals over the years, and there’s been speculation that Pope Francis envisions far-reaching reforms or even its suppression.

Dismantling the bank is not very likely, I believe, in part because of a last-minute decision made by Pope Benedict. Two weeks before he retired, Benedict appointed a new director of the bank, German financier Ernst von Freyburg; the move was seen as an effort to place the institution firmly on the path of reform.

This week, von Freyburg announced to his staff that the bank would publish its financial accounts before the end of the year and would launch its own website, in steps toward greater transparency.

A month ago, at the Vatican’s request, European banking regulators said they would expand their evaluation of the Vatican bank’s efforts to prevent money-laundering and the funding of terrorism – another move toward compliancy with international norms.

There are many who wonder, “Why does the Vatican need a bank?” and even some cardinals have recently posed that question. Some Vatican officials believe it’s a matter of sovereignty, and say that placing Vatican financial operations under the control of foreign banks is not a good idea.

Others point out that the Vatican bank, known officially as the Institute for the Works of Religion, has always had a function that makes it unique in banking circles. It was established in the late 1800s (under a different name) as a means to help Catholic groups send funds to needy Catholics in another part of the world.

Religious orders have used the bank to transfer funds to their houses in various countries, and missionaries rely on the bank’s expertise to help them find secure ways to exchange currencies and move money to particular church communities.

I remember once seeing an African bishop in line at the Vatican bank, holding some benefactors’ bank account numbers in one hand and building plans for a new diocesan center in the other. When his turn came up, he dumped it all in front of the cashier and asked him how he could make one thing lead to the other.

The Vatican bank has taken significant steps toward transparency over the last few years. Its director, Paolo Cipriani, in a press briefing last year, disclosed that the bank has about 33,000 accounts with assets of about 6 billion euros ($7.4 billion). He said that contrary to rumors, the bank had no secret accounts and no dealings with off-shore banks.

It’s still too early to tell exactly where Pope Francis will go with the Vatican bank, but it’s clear he wants to underline the function of service and move away from the kind of deals and practices that have landed the bank in trouble in the past.

As he said in this morning’s homily: “Pray for us that we might be poor, that we might be humble, meek, in the service of the people.”

Cardinal O’Brien to leave Scotland for period of penance, Vatican announces

The Vatican announced today that Scottish Cardinal Keith O’Brien, after admitting improper sexual conduct, would be leaving Scotland for several months of “spiritual renewal, prayer and penance.”

“Any decision regarding future arrangements for His Eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See,” the Vatican statement said.

The terse Vatican announcement provided no details about where the Scottish cardinal would be residing, but the wording appeared to indicate that Pope Francis wants close follow-up on a scandal he inherited.

Cardinal O’Brien, 75, was recently photographed while moving his personal belongings into a church-owned cottage in Dunbar on the North Sea, where he planned to reside. With the Vatican announcement, those plans have clearly changed.

In February, the cardinal resigned as archbishop of Edinburgh and said he would not be attending the papal conclave that began March 12. Later, he acknowledged that his sexual conduct had “fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and a cardinal.”

At that time, he apologized to those he had offended and to the church and people of Scotland. Three priests and one former priest had alleged sexual advances by the cardinal in the 1980s.

The Vatican’s announcement today:

His Eminence Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien, Archbishop Emeritus of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, for the same reasons he decided not to participate in the last Conclave, and in agreement with the Holy Father, will be leaving Scotland for several months for the purpose of spiritual renewal, prayer and penance. Any decision regarding future arrangements for His Eminence shall be agreed with the Holy See.

A Vatican cardinal pulls back the curtain

UPDATE: The Vatican on Tuesday issued a statement saying that Cardinal Braz de Aviz and Cardinal Muller had met Monday and “reaffirmed their common commitment” to the program of changes foreseen for the LCWR.

The statement blamed the media for its suggesting there was a divergence between the doctrinal and religious congregations at the Vatican “in their approach to the renewal of religious life.”

Whatever spin the Vatican chooses to put on this, Cardinal Braz de Aviz was clearly criticizing the process by which the LCWR review was handled. He made it equally clear that he would support the doctrinal congregation’s conclusions.

This is from the Vatican statement today:

Recent media commentary on remarks made on Sunday May the 5th during the General Assembly of the International Union of Superiors General by Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, has suggested a divergence between the CDF and the Congregation for Religious in their approach to the renewal of Religious Life. Such an interpretation of the Cardinal’s remarks is not justified. The Prefects of these two Congregations work closely together according to their specific responsibilities and have collaborated throughout the process of the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR. Archbishop Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Braz de Aviz met yesterday and reaffirmed their common commitment to the renewal of Religious Life, and particularly to the Doctrinal Assessment of the LCWR and the program of reform it requires, in accordance with the wishes of the Holy Father.

My post on Monday:

The comments Sunday by Brazilian Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, on how the Vatican’s handling of the investigation of a group of U.S. Catholic sisters caused him “much pain,” are stunning for several reasons.

First, the cardinal made it clear that the decision last year to insist on reform of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the largest group of U.S. sisters, was taken without consultation with his own office, the Vatican congregation that oversees religious orders around the world.

That opens a window on how little communication occurs between Vatican offices, even on matters that clearly require a joint approach and careful deliberation.

It also underlines how the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which issued the assessment of LCWR last year, continues to act as if there is no need for dialogue – not even with others in the Roman Curia.

As Cardinal Braz de Aviz said, the whole episode illustrates a power struggle dynamic at work inside the Vatican. “This struggle of who is going to win is not good,” he said, according to the report filed by the National Catholic Reporter.

And he zeroed in on another dangerous aspect of the way the Roman Curia operates: at least in the past, access to the pope has been limited, and influence on papal decisions may depend on who gets the pope’s ear. As the cardinal put it, “the problem very often is what kind of news goes to the Holy Father.”

What makes Cardinal Braz de Aviz’s comments all the more fascinating is that they seemed to express a personal cry of conscience. That may reflect a new freedom of expression at the Vatican under Pope Francis.

From the NCR report:

He also said it was the first time he was discussing the lack of consultation publicly, saying previously he “didn’t have the courage to speak.”

I’m guessing that the Brazilian cardinal discussed all this with Pope Francis before speaking Sunday to a meeting of international representatives of women religious orders in Rome. I don’t think, given Braz de Aviz’s remarks about the need for consultation, that he would have blindsided the new pope on this topic.

His comments also put a recent statement from the doctrinal congregation in a curious light. On April 15, Archbishop Gerhard Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the LCWR that Pope Francis had “reaffirmed the findings of the assessment and the program of reform for this conference of major superiors.”

Cardinal Braz de Aviz confirmed that the doctrinal review of the LCWR would go forward. Indeed, it would have been unusual for the new pope to undo a project that was essentially completed under his predecessor.

But it also seems clear that the process employed – in particular, the lack of real discussion at the highest levels of the Vatican – is due for an overhaul. And it would seem to make the idea of a meeting between Pope Francis and LCWR leadership all the more necessary.