The Catholic Weekly 14 June 2020

14 14, June, 2020 W orld catholicweekly.com.au Institute profit at A$71 million THE INSTITUTE for the Works of Religion, often re- ferred to as the Vatican Bank, made a profit of 38 million euros (about A$71 million) in 2019, more than twice the profit reported in the previous year, according to its annual report. In the report, which was released by the Vatican on 8 June, Jean-Baptiste de Frans- su, president of the bank’s board of supervisors, said that 2019 was “a favourable year” and the profit reflected “a pru- dent approach in themanage- ment of the institute assets and its costs base.” The bank held assets worth 5.1 billion euros (A$9.4 bil- lion) at year’s end, which in- cluded deposits and invest- ments from close to 14,996 clients – mostly Catholic religious orders around the world, Vatican offices and em- ployees, and Catholic clergy. “In 2019, the institute con- tinued to provide, with rig- or and prudence, financial services to the Vatican City State and the Catholic Church worldwide,” the institute said in an 8 June statement. According to the report, the bank’s assets are worth 630 million euros (A$1 billion) placing its tier 1 capital ratio – which measures the bank’s financial strength – at 82.4 per cent compared to 86.4 per cent in 2018. The decreased ratio, the bank said, is attributable to the decrease in common eq- uity and the higher credit risk of assets. “The priority and commit- ment of the institute to the ethical and social principles of Catholic teaching is applied to the management and in- vestment policies of its own account and to those of its cli- ents,” the institute said. Before the report’s release, the 2019 financial statements were audited by the firm Mazars. - CNS AFRICA’S CATHOLIC bish- ops have called on donor countries and agencies to ex- ercise solidarity with the con- tinent – including cancelling debt – as the coronavirus pan- demic continues to hit hard. On 31 May, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences in Africa and Madagascar also urged the African Union to sensitise its member coun- ¾ ¾ Francis Njuguna Broker arrested Cancel debt, bishops urge Vaticanmoves against key figure in controversial A$290millionLondonpropertydeal VATICAN AUTHORITIES ar- rested and took into custody an Italian broker who was in- volved in the Vatican Secre- tariat of State’s majority stake purchase of a property in Lon- don’s posh Chelsea district. In a statement released on 5 June, the Vatican said Gian Piero Milano, Vatican chief prosecutor, and his deputy, Alessandro Diddi, authorised the arrest of the broker, Gi- anluigi Torzi, after he was in- terrogated at the Vatican pros- ecutor’s office. He was being held in a cell in the Vatican police barracks, the statement said. The arrest was “in relation to the well-known events con- nected with the sale of the London property on Sloane Avenue, which involved a net- ¾ ¾ Junno Arocho Esteves A businesswoman wearing a protective mask at her home in Nai- robi, Kenya, in May. PHOTO: CNS/THOMAS MUKOYA, REUTERS work of companies in which some officials of the Secretar- iat of State were present,” the Vatican said. Torzi faces charges of ex- tortion, embezzlement, ag- gravated fraud and money laundering. If found guilty, he faces up to 12 years in prison. The arrest is the latest chap- ter in the saga related to the London property which first came to light in early October when Vatican police conduct- ed a raid on offices in the Sec- retariat of State and the Vati- can financial oversight office. The day after the raid, the Italian magazine L’Espresso published an internal notice as well as leaked documents, alleging the raid was part of the Vatican’s investigation into how the Secretariat of State used A$293 million to finance a property develop- ment project in London’s Chelsea district in 2014. According to Vatican News, Torzi served as the middle- man in the Vatican Secretariat of State’s eventual purchase of the majority stake in the London property in 2018 from London-based Italian financi- er, Raffaele Mincione. In an interview published on 6 June with Italian news agency Adnkronos , Mincione denied any connection with Torzi’s involvement in the deal and said he “sold the property to the Vatican.” “I sold it to (Venezuelan Archbishop) Edgar Pena Par- ra, to the sheriff put in place by other people to do this; I didn’t sell it to Torzi,” Min- cione said. “Torzi was com- missioned by the Vatican to buy the property for them.” Archbishop Pena Parra has served as substitute secretary for general affairs in the Vati- can Secretariat of State since 2018, succeeding Italian Car- dinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu, prefect of the Congregation for Saints’ Causes. While the Vatican incurred debts from the purchase, Torzi received an estimated $A25 million for brokering the deal. Several Vatican officials were investigated for their in- volvement in the deal, includ- ing Mons Alberto Perlasca, the former head of the Vatican Secretariat of State’s adminis- trative office. In February, Vatican po- lice seized documents and computers at Mons Perlasca’s home and office because of “what emerged from the first interrogations of the officials under investigation and sus- pended from duty” after the October raid. In an 8 June interview on an Italian blog Mons Perlas- ca denied his involvement in the purchase of the property’s majority stake. - CNS ¾ ¾ Junno Arocho Esteves tries to contribute to the crea- tion of a solidarity fund, which the bishops stressed will be used to improve the health of the people. In their statement, signed by Burkina Faso Cardinal Philippe Ouedraogo, SECAM president, the bishops urged African leaders to ensure that “the limited available resourc- es be used to assist those who really need help, especially the poorest of the poor, and not end in the pockets of the politically connected people through corrupt practices.” Acknowledging the initia- tives already taken by inter- national aid agencies in the management of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bishops asked them to take a closer look at the continent, which currently lacks resourc- es in the fight against the pan- demic. “We would like to go fur- ther to plead for the massive cancellation of debts of Afri- can countries, to enable them to revive their economies,” the bishops said. They also called on multi- national businesses that rely on raw materials from Africa to make significant contribu- tions to the host countries to enable them to provide basic social services such as hos- pitals, schools, adequate and affordable housing. - CNS Torzi faces charges of extortion, embezzlement, aggravated fraud and money laundering. If found guilty, he faces up to 12 years in prison.” Pope Francis listens as Gian Piero Milano, Vatican chief prosecutor, speaks during an audi- ence at the Vatican in February 2020. PHOTO: CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA