The new law brings the necessary transparency to finances, says Mgr. Nunzio Galantino

A new law that removes financial assets from the control of the Vatican Secretariat of State is a step forward on the road to financial reform, said Monsignor Nunzio Galantino, president of the Holy See's Heritage Administration.

"There was a need to change direction in the management of finances, the economy and the administration, to increase transparency and efficiency," Galantino said in an interview with Vatican News.

Issued a "motu proprio", on the initiative of Pope Francis, and published on December 28, the decree ordered the Administration of the Patrimony of the Holy See, also known as APSA, to manage all bank accounts and financial investments belonging to the Secretariat Vatican State.

APSA manages the Vatican's investment portfolio and real estate holdings.

The Secretariat for the Economy will monitor the administration of APSA funds, the pope ordered.

Galantino told Vatican News that the measures are the result of "studies and research" begun during the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and requests during the general congregations before the election of Pope Francis in 2013.

Among the questionable investments made by the Secretariat of State was a purchase of majority stakes in a property in the Chelsea neighborhood of London which incurred significant debt and raised concerns that funds from the Peter's Pence annual fundraiser were being used for l 'purchase.

In an interview published by the Vatican press office on October 1, Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, said that the financial losses suffered by the real estate agreement "were not covered by Peter's Pence, but with other reserve funds from the Secretariat of State. "

Although the pope's new rules are part of a larger and ongoing effort to reform Vatican finances, Galantino told Vatican News "it would be hypocritical to say" that the scandal surrounding the London real estate deal has not affected the new measures. .

The real estate agreement “helped us understand which control mechanisms needed to be strengthened. It made us understand many things: not only how much we lost - an aspect we are still evaluating - but also how and why we lost it, ”he said.

The head of the APSA stressed the need for clear and rational measures "to ensure a more transparent administration".

"If there is a designated department for the administration and management of funds and property, it is not necessary for others to perform the same task," he said. "If there is a department designated to control investments and expenses, there is no need for others to perform the same task."

The new measures, added Galantino, are also intended to restore people's confidence in the annual Peter's Pence collection, which “was created as a contribution from the faithful, from local churches, to the mission of the pope who is a universal pastor, and it is therefore destined for charity, evangelization, the ordinary life of the church and the structures that help the bishop of Rome carry out his service "