Cardinal George Pell has said he will serve his “full five-year term” as the Vatican’s financial reformer after the suspension of a major external audit provoked speculation that reform efforts may be faltering.
Cardinal Pell, whose term as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy began in 2014, said the Pope “fully supported” the work of his office and had visited staff for an hour last Thursday, engaging in a “friendly and lively discussion”.
A statement issued by the cardinal’s office said the Pope supported the “ongoing need for transparency” and the importance of “outside or external professional inclusion and assistance”.
The statement said: “Cardinal Pell will also be continuing with his current role for the full five-year term. Finally, it is also interesting to note so-called ‘concerns’ about the PwC audit and contract were only raised when auditors began asking for certain financial information and we’re finding it difficult to get answers.”
Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi denied that the suspension of the audit – carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) – reflected internal opposition to it or to financial transparency in general.
“Issues have emerged regarding the meaning and scope of certain clauses of the contract [with PwC] and their methods of implementation. The commitment to adequate economic and financial auditing remains a priority for the Holy See and for Vatican City State,” he said.
A financial audit of every Vatican office “is so complex that it should not be a surprise that there are things needing clarification”, Fr Lombardi added.
Six arrested over alleged ISIS plot to attack the Vatican
Italian authorities have arrested six suspects who allegedly received orders from ISIS to attack the Vatican and the Israeli embassy in Rome.
The arrests made in Lombardy and Piedmont last week were the result of a joint operation coordinated by the district attorney of Milan and the Italian anti-terrorism agency.
According to the news agency Ansa, authorities arrested Abderrahim Moutaharrik and his wife, Salma Bencharki; Abderrahmane Khachia, and three people in contact with a couple who left Italy to join ISIS in Syria. All the suspects are of Moroccan origin. A warrant has been issued for the couple, Mohamed Korachi and his Italian wife, Alice Brignoli, who are believed to have left for Syria in 2015.
Authorities monitored a series of conversations between the suspects via WhatsApp. One of the messages sent to Moutaharrik said: “Dear brother Abderrahim, I send you … the bomb poem … listen to the sheik and strike,” Ansa reported. The messages mentioned an attack on the Israeli embassy as well as against pilgrims in Rome for the Year of Mercy.
Rise in ‘suspicious’ transactions
The Vatican’s financial watchdog has reported a huge jump in the number of financial transactions flagged as “suspicious” and in the value of assets it has blocked or frozen.
During 2015 the Financial Intelligence Authority “received 544 reports of suspicious activities – almost three times as many as 2014”, it said in its annual report. This was not due to a higher crime rate, it said, but to better monitoring.
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