Merchants in the Temple (2 page)

I have access to thousands of documents, the most significant of which are reproduced in this book. They show the incredible waste of money by the men who govern the Church. At their worst, these men have engaged in wrongdoing that includes practices closely tied to religious life, such as the procedures for beatification and canonization—a marketplace in which millions of dollars change hands—and the management of the Peter's Pence, the money that is sent to Rome from every diocese in the world, and is supposed to be used to bring relief to the poor, in fulfillment of the Church's pastoral mission and the goals of Francis. And where, you may ask, do these donations go? This book will reconstruct the facts and erase all doubt as to where the money trail ends.

The people who made this material available to me did so because they are pained by the deeply rooted hypocrisy they see in the Vatican. They cannot stand idly by as these men who know the facts, but refuse to admit the truth, go about their daily business. Every day they observe the huge gap between what Francis has promised and what is being done to hinder his reforms and undermine his credibility.

My previous books,
Vaticano S.p.A.
and
His Holiness
, helped to bring down the wall of
omertà
and silence that has protected the Holy Roman Church for centuries. This investigation continues to seek out the truth at the Vatican, contributing, wherever possible, to flushing out and denouncing the opponents of the revolution of Francis—a revolution which, let us not forget, was born from the unprecedented decision of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, to step down.

This book is not a defense of the Pope but rather a journalistic analysis of the serious problems afflicting the Church today, caused by an ecclesiastical leadership and power circles hostile to change. My intention, once again, is to lend transparency to an authority that has long been obfuscated by narrow, often illegal, interests at odds with evangelical principles. As before, I am not driven by anti-clericalism, but by the desire to acquaint Catholics and non-Catholics alike with the contradictions of the Church—a Church that Francis wishes to reform radically, turning it into a home that is finally open to the needy and the poor and no longer focused on its own privileges and jealous of its own indestructible power.

In May 2012, after the publication of
His Holiness
, the Curia reacted to the book with its traditional obscurantism, trying to hunt down my sources. Shortly after, the arrest of Joseph Ratzinger's butler, Paolo Gabriele—my source for important documents in the book—made headlines. He would later tell friends about his detention in a cell too small for him to even spread his arms. Gabriele was found guilty of theft after a quick trial. He should have been commended for passing photocopies of documents to a journalist and letting the world know what was happening in the Vatican. Instead, he was treated as a criminal.

Paolo Gabriele lost his job and had to leave the house where he had lived with his family. He wanted to make public the incredible difficulties that the Holy Father was facing every day—the same problems that would lead to the Pope's resignation less than one year later. Benedict XVI pardoned his butler. Today we know that he often inquires as to Gabriele's health, whether he has a job, and how his children are doing at school. On Christmas and other occasions, Ratzinger sends presents to his family. But at the Vatican, among the cardinals and senior prelates, the precedent Gabriele created by leaking papers and documents still casts a long and frightening shadow.

 

1

Pope Francis Issues a Shocking Accusation

On July 28, 2013, a few hours after his customary religious obligations, Pope Francis prepared to go to the Apostolic Palace. As always, he checked his datebook first. “This is what I've always done. I carry it in a black briefcase. Inside is a razor, a breviary, an appointment book, and a book to read.”
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The Pope carefully reviewed his notes. That morning he had a meeting with Archbishop Jean Louis Bruguès, the librarian and archivist of the Holy See. But his most important appointment of the day was a noon meeting scheduled to take place in one of the most inaccessible and mysterious spaces in the Palace: the Sala Bologna, on the third floor, between the papal apartment recently vacated by Benedict XVI and the quarters of the Secretariat of State. The decorations for this sumptuous dining room had been commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII (1502–1585), who wanted frescoes of immense maps and cosmic charts to convey the measure of his ambitious pontificate. Although they had originally been created for the 1575 Jubilee, they were timelier than ever today, in perfect harmony with the designs of Pope Francis. Like Gregory's, Francis's plans were also ambitious and mysterious, inspired by his wish to bring the Church into the world and to fight the Curia's secret dealings and privileges. His was a soft but steady revolution that had already triggered a war without rules or limits. Francis's enemies were powerful, duplicitous, and hypocritical.

The Pope made his entrance to what looked like a miniconclave. The cardinals were waiting for him, conversing quietly in small clusters. The tension was palpable. Cardinal Versaldi, the President of the Prefecture, was present. Off to the side was Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello—a staunch ally of Bertone—who headed the Governorate. Domenico Calcagno, the President of APSA, was also there. All the key players who administer the money and the property of the Holy See were in attendance.

The official order of business was to approve the annual financial report for 2012, but everyone knew that a different issue would be addressed today. Immediately upon his election Pope Francis had announced his intention to reform the Curia. One month later, in April 2013, he had established a group to help him with the governance of the Church: a council of eight cardinals from five continents, created for the purpose of breaking the stranglehold that the cardinals residing in Rome had over the Vatican.
2

On June 24, the Pope established the Commission for Reference on the IOR, the first commission in history to review the Institute after the many scandals in which it had been embroiled. Although there was already an IOR Supervisory Commission, chaired by Cardinal Bertone, the new Pope wanted more oversight. “The Commission”—announced the Vatican press release—“will gather accurate information on the legal status and various activities of the Institute and … shall deliver to us promptly, upon the conclusion of its tasks, the results of its work, as well as its entire archives.” In other words, Francis wanted to get a clear picture of the facts and to hear from an impartial new body that reported directly to him.
3

The Curia was devastated by these moves, but no one had grasped the full scope of the changes: would Pope Francis intervene only superficially, through big media announcements, or would he get to the root of the problems, eliminating the power centers and the infighting? And in these first months of his pontificate, how well did he know the secrets behind the massive circulation of money inside the Vatican?

The cardinals attending the July 3, 2013, meeting with Francis found an immediate answer in the confidential file that they each received with their name on it. Among the papers inside, the most important was a two-page letter that had been sent to the Pope one week earlier, on June 27, from five of the international auditors of the Prefecture. Two of the members expressed the auditors' concerns over the way the Vatican's finances were being managed and decided to take the risk of conveying these concerns to Francis: the loyal Santo Abril y Castelló and the President of the Prefecture, Giuseppe Versaldi. The cardinals were shocked by the letter, a document that has never before been made public. Among other things, it listed the emergency situations that had to be addressed immediately to rescue the Vatican from impending bankruptcy:

Holy Father,

 … There is a complete absence of transparency in the bookkeeping of both the Holy See and the Governorate. This lack of transparency makes it impossible to provide a clear estimate of the actual financial status of the Vatican as a whole and of the single entities of which it consists. This also means that no one person can be considered actually responsible for financial management … We only know that the data examined show a truly downward trend and we strongly suspect that the Vatican as a whole has a serious structural deficit.

The general financial management within the Vatican can be defined, in the best of cases, as inadequate. First, the budgeting and decision-making processes of both the Holy See and the Governorate are senseless, despite the existence of clear guidelines defined by the current regulations.
4
 … This reality seems to suggest that, at a minimum, the prevailing attitude of the Vatican is best captured by the expression, “the rules don't apply to us.” Costs are out of control. This applies in particular to personnel costs but it also extends elsewhere. There are various cases of duplicate activities, where consolidation would instead guarantee significant savings and improve the management of the problems.
5
We have not been able to identify clear guidelines to follow for investments of financial capital. This is a serious limit and it leaves too much discretion to the managers, which increases the overall level of risk. The situation that is applicable to the investments of the Holy See, Governorate, Pension Fund, Health Insurance Fund, and other funds managed by autonomous entities should be immediately improved … The managers must clearly shoulder their responsibilities for preparing the budgets and sticking to them in a more realistic and effective way.

We are aware that we have presented strong and sometimes severe advice and suggestions. We sincerely hope that Your Holiness realizes that our actions are inspired by our love for the Church and our sincere desire to help and to improve the temporal aspect of the Vatican. We and all our families beg for Your apostolic blessing, while confirming ourselves as the humble and devout children of Your Holiness.

After reading the letter, Agostino Vallini turned pale. He had been made a cardinal by Benedict XVI and since 2008 had served as the Vicar of the diocese of Rome. He immediately sensed the explosive potential of the documents and invoked the need for confidentiality. These papers “are under papal seal”—he hastened to recall, addressing the Pope—“and we hope they conserve … not for our part but, you know…”

Vallini's main concern was that nothing be leaked outside the Vatican walls. He was well aware of the impact that this report could have on public opinion. The elderly cardinal turned around slowly to gaze at his colleagues and observed only silence and anxiety. On the surface the reaction was placid, but there were clear undercurrents of tension, dismay, and shock.

The cardinals did not know the full extent of the Vatican's troubled economic situation. Earlier that year, during the congregations for the Conclave in March, they had received information, reports, and numbers, but they were piecemeal and disorganized. A more reassuring picture had been painted instead by the same cardinals who were in charge of the various dicasteries.

None of the members of the Curia were accustomed to the new requirement that information be transparent and openly circulated. Francis probably saw what he had been expecting. As a good Jesuit, he would use the alarming documents he had received from the auditors to make everyone understand that from that moment on, nothing would be the same.

The Holy Father took the floor. He delivered an indictment that would last sixteen interminable minutes, using harsher words than had ever been expressed by a Pontiff to the assembly—words that were supposed to remain secret, protected by the gravity of their contents and the confidentiality demanded of all those who had access to the room. But that would not be the case. Foreseeing the risks that his innovative action would entail—sabotage, manipulations, theft, break-ins, and attempts to discredit the reformers—someone recorded the Pope's charges, word for word.

*   *   *

Dead silence fell over the room as the Pontiff prepared to speak, the clicking on of the recorder going unobserved. On the recording, the sound quality is perfect, and the voice of Francis unmistakable. He is calm and dry but firm and resolute. He speaks in halting but clear Italian, as befitting the Bishop of Rome, leaving long pauses between each item of his indictment.

The silences lend even greater drama to his words. It is evident that Francis wants every cardinal—including the ones who tolerated bad behavior for years—to realize that the time has come to choose sides:

We have to better clarify the finances of the Holy See and make them more transparent. What I will say is that to help, I would like to identify some elements that will definitely help you in your reflections.

First. It was universally ascertained in the general congregations [during the Conclave] that [in the Vatican] the number of employees has grown too much. This fact creates a huge waste of money that can be avoided. Cardinal Calcagno told me that in the past five years there has been a 30 percent increase in employee expenses.
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Something isn't right! We have to get this problem under control.

The Pontiff had already known that most of the new hiring was based on cronyism. The persons in question were employed for vague projects or hired through nepotism or personal connections. It was no accident that, in this small state, rather than have one human resources office, like a private company with thousands of employees, there were fourteen, one for each power center on the organizational chart of the Holy See. Francis denounces this in a lucid crescendo that highlights each of the most alarming situations:

Second point: the lack of transparency continues to be an issue. There are expenses for which no clear procedures were followed. According to the men who spoke with me [i.e., the auditors who wrote the report and some cardinals]—this comes out in the financial statements. In this connection, I think we have to move forward with the work of clarifying the origins of the expenses and the forms of payment. We have to create a protocol for estimates and also for the last step, payments. [We need to] follow this protocol rigorously. One of the department heads told me: they come to me with the invoice so we have to pay … No, we don't. If a job was done without an estimate, without authorization, we don't pay. So who will pay? [Pope Francis simulates a dialogue with a bursar.] We don't pay. [We need to] start with a protocol and be firm: [even if] we're making this poor clerk look bad, we don't pay! God help us but we don't pay!