Vatican City, 9 July 2014 (VIS) –
This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was held
to present the new economic plan for the Holy See. The speakers were
Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy,
Joseph F. X. Zahra and Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, deputy coordinator
and member of the Council for the Economy respectively, and Ernst von
Freyberg, president of the Board of Superintendence of the Institute
for the Works of Religion (IOR).
Cardinal George Pell announced new and
important initiatives for improving the economic management and
administration of the Holy See and Vatican City State. These changes,
set in motion by the new Secretariat for the Economy, are the fruit
of a detailed analysis of the conclusions and recommendations of the
Pontifical Council for Reference on the Organisation of the
Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See (COSEA), and are
considered essential to face risks and weaknesses and, at the same
time, to create in the future a new platform for improving economic
management. All the changes were approved in the recent meetings of
the Council for the Economy (5 July) and the Council of Cardinals
(1-4 July), and it is expected that they will be approved by the Holy
Father.
The changes relate to APSA (the
Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See), the Pension
Fund, the Vatican media and the Institute for the Works of Religion
(IOR).
The Prefect of the Secretariat of the
Economy expressed his satisfaction with the fact that the Holy Father
has approved these important initiatives. Both Cardinal Pell and the
Council for the Economy gave thanks for the Pope's unwavering support
and contributions.
“There are many challenges to face
and much work to be done”, Cardinal Pell observed. “The COSEA has
recommended that various issues be faced as a matter of urgency, such
as the transfer of the Ordinary Section of the APSA, the Pension
Fund, the media and the IOR. The Holy Father has clearly stated that
these changes must be made rapidly”.
The Cardinal went on to announce the
creation of a small Project Management Office (PMO), directed by
Danny Casey, former business manager of the archdiocese of Sydney, to
implement and present some of the proposed changes, beginning with
the transfer of the Ordinary Section of the APSA to the Secretariat
for the Economy. The PMO will report directly to the Prefect of the
Secretariat for the Economy.
In September 2014, the Secretariat for
the Economy will begin to prepare the budget for the year 2015. The
aim is for all dicasteries and administrations to draw up a budget to
which they will adhere throughout the year. Spending (within the
agreed structure) will be the responsibility of each dicastery and
administration. It will then be compared with the budget in progress
during 2015, and the dicastery in question will be accountable for
any eventual excess spending.
“We are keen to pursue this work in
the coming months”, Cardinal Pell concluded.
The following are extracts from the
proposals for change in the various sectors, starting with the
Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See:
The Ordinary Section of APSA is
transferred to the Secretariat for the Economy. This is an important
step to enable the Secretariat for the Economy to exercise its
responsibilities of economic control and vigilance over the agencies
of the Holy See, including policies and procedures concerning
purchasing and the suitable allocation of human resources as defined
in the Motu Proprio Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens.
The remaining staff of APSA will begin
to focus exclusively on its role as a Treasury for the Holy See and
the Vatican City State. A key early task will be continuing the work
of establishing close relationships with all major Central banks as
recommended by MoneyVal, which will continue to ensure the liquidity
and financial stability of the Holy See. All sovereign institutions
will have an account at APSA which will serve as a Treasury for them.
With regard to the Pension Fund, the
Council for the Economy has appointed a technical committee to study
its current situation and to make proposals to the Council for the
Economy before the end of the year. The Council recognised and
acknowledged that the pensions being paid today and for the next
generation are safe but the fund needs to ensure there are sufficient
funds for future generations in a changing environment. Many Western
countries have faced challenges in their pension system over the last
years. It is anticipated that new statutes would be prepared by the
end of 2014 to adapt the Pension Fund's organisation to the new
economic-administrative structure of the Holy See.
The technical committee will be headed
by the Council's Prelate Secretary Mons. Brian Ferme. Four lay
experts will contribute their professional experience and expertise:
Bernhard Kotanko, Austria; Andrea Lesca, Italy; Antoine de Salins,
France, and Professor Nino Savelli, Italy. In addition, there will be
representatives from of the Council for the Economy, the Secretariat
of State and the Pension Fund.
Another area under consideration is the
Vatican communications structure, and a committee has been appointed
to propose reforms for the Vatican media. The committee will publish
a report and a reform plan within the next twelve months after
considering the COSEA report. The objectives are to adapt the Holy
See media to changing media consumption trends, enhance coordination
and achieve progressively and appreciably substantial financial
savings. Building on the recent positive experiences with initiatives
such as the Pope App and the Holy Father's Twitter Account, digital
channels will be strengthened to ensure the Holy Father's messages
reach more of the faithful around the world, especially young people.
The members of the committee come from
Vatican staff and from senior international experts. They have been
chosen for their expertise in communications while reflecting the
universality of the Catholic Church. The international experts are
Lord Christopher Patten, UK, who will act as president of the
committee; Gregory Erlandson, USA; Daniela Frank, Germany; Fr. Eric
Salobir OP, France; Leticia Soberon, Spain and Mexico; and George
Yeo, Singapore. The Vatican staff are Msgr. Paul Tighe, secretary of
the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, who will act as
secretary of the committee; Giacomo Ghisani, Vatican Radio; Msgr.
Carlo Maria Polvani, Secretariat of State; Msgr. Lucio Adrian Ruiz,
Vatican Internet Service, and Professor Giovanni Maria Vian,
editor-in-chief of L'Osservatore Romano.
With regard to the Institute for the
Works of Religion, following the confirmation of the mission of the
IOR by the Holy Father on 7 April 2014 and under the guidance of the
Secretariat for the Economy and its Council, the IOR has announced
plans for the next stage of development.
The Holy Father's Council of Cardinals
(C9), the Secretariat for the Economy, the Supervisory Commission of
Cardinals and the current IOR Board of Superintendence have jointly
agreed that this plan shall be carried out by a new executive team
led by Jean-Baptiste de Franssu. He will assume office as the new
president of the IOR on July 9, 2014. Ernst von Freyberg has agreed
to serve a period of transition to ensure an orderly hand-over.
Jean-Baptiste de Franssu stated, “It is an honour to have been
called to implement the changes that are now required to further
transform the IOR into a dedicated service provider for the Church”.
Over the next three years, the IOR’s
Statutes will be revised and its operations redesigned, following a
set of three strategic priorities: strengthening the business
foundation for the IOR; gradually shifting assets under management to
a newly created, central Vatican Asset Management (VAM), in order to
overcome duplication of efforts in this field among Vatican
institutions; and focusing IOR on financial advice and payment
services for clergy, congregations, dioceses and lay Vatican
employees.
The IOR is in a phase of peaceful
transition. The first stage of the reforms, led by Ernst von
Freyberg, has been completed. Excellent progress has been made
through adherence to international standards and the resultant
transparency is evident in the second annual report which has been
fully audited by Deloitte. A new anti-money-laundering (AML)
framework has been put in place and every effort continues to be made
to comply with this framework. The internal compliance department,
supported by Promontory, has closely reviewed 18,000 clients. Von
Freyberg's leadership in this first stage has cleared the decks for
the beginning of the next phase, to be led by President-elect
Jean-Baptiste de Franssu who will devote himself full-time to his new
task. Because of other commitments, President von Freyberg is unable
to dedicate himself full-time to IOR duties.
In the different financial agencies
reporting to the Secretariat for the Economy, a general pattern of
clerical-lay expert cooperation has been followed. The exact nature
of this governmental cooperation at IOR is yet to be determined. The
five members of the Commission of Cardinals will continue their
involvement and will be joined by Cardinal Josip Bozanic of Zagreb,
Croatia. They are Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, archpriest of the
Papal Basilica of St Mary Major; Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins,
archbishop of Toronto; Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin;
Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna, and Cardinal
Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue.
Six new lay members will be appointed
to the Board of IOR including Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, France, as
president; Clemens Boersig, Germany; Professor Mary Ann Glendon, USA,
and Sir Michael Hintze, UK.
Msgr. Alfred Xuereb, secretary general
of the Secretariat for the Economy, will be the non-voting secretary
of the Board of the IOR, and Msgr. Battista Ricca remains as the
Prelate of the IOR.
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