PRESS OFFICE: NO LINKS BETWEEN VATICAN AND FOUNDATIONS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 1, 1999 (VIS) - Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls made the following declaration this morning in answer to questions by journalists:
"I wish to make it clear that the 'Monitor Ecclesiasticus' and 'St. Francis of Assisi' Foundations do not have Vatican juridical character and are not inscribed in the registers of Vatican juridical personalities.

"I wish to add that the Holy See does not have any relationship with Rev. Peter Jacobs and has neither furnished nor received funds from either the Monitor Ecclesiasticus Foundation or the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation. Contrary to what has been affirmed, the St. Francis of Assisi Foundation does not have an account in the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), and indeed is not recognized by this Institute.

"Msgr. Emilio Colagiovanni is president of the Monitor Ecclesiasticus Foundation, established by the archdiocese of Naples in 1967. This foundation has always acted totally outside of any Vatican context, and does not have any relationship with it whatsoever."

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