Bishop Georg Bätzing, chairman of the German bishops’ conference, meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican, June 24, 2021. / Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Jun 14, 2022 / 04:55 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday that h… […]
Pope Francis sat at the front of the congregation in St. Peter’s Basilica on the Solemnity of Pentecost on June 5, 2022. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Jun 14, 2022 / 04:12 am (CNA).
There are many “restorers” in the United States who do not accept the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis said in an interview published on Tuesday.
Speaking to the editors of Jesuit journals, he criticized what he called “restorationism” in the Church, which he defined as the failure to accept Vatican II, the ecumenical council held from 1962 to 1965.
He said: “Restorationism has come to gag the Council. The number of groups of ‘restorers’ — for example, in the United States there are many — is significant.”
“An Argentine bishop told me that he had been asked to administer a diocese that had fallen into the hands of these ‘restorers.’ They had never accepted the Council. There are ideas, behaviors that arise from a restorationism that basically did not accept the Council.”
“The problem is precisely this: in some contexts, the Council has not yet been accepted. It is also true that it takes a century for a Council to take root. We still have 40 years to make it take root, then!”
Pope Francis cited opposition to Vatican II when he issued the motu proprio Traditionis custodes, limited celebrations of the Traditional Latin Mass.
In a letter to the world’s bishops, he said he was saddened that the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass was “often characterized by a rejection not only of the liturgical reform, but of the Vatican Council II itself.”
To doubt the Council, he said, is “to doubt the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church.”
The pope’s conversation with editors, which also touched on the war in Ukraine and the German “Synodal Way,” was published in La Civiltà Cattolica on June 14, but was conducted on May 19.
Pope Francis’ general audience in St. Peter’s Square, June 8, 2022. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Vatican City, Jun 14, 2022 / 02:32 am (CNA).
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Christians hold signs as they march on the streets of Abuja during prayer and penance for peace and security in Nigeria on March 1, 2020.
St. Louis, Mo., Jun 13, 2022 / 20:45 pm (CNA).
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Pope Francis meets with a delegation of priests and monks from Oriental Orthodox Churches at the Vatican on June 3, 2022. / Vatican Media
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The Catholic Cathedral of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. / Mylius via Wikimedia (GFDL 1.2).
Limburg, Germany, Jun 13, 2022 / 11:30 am (CNA).
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St. Peter’s Basilica. / vvo/Shutterstock.
Vatican City, Jun 13, 2022 / 09:18 am (CNA).
The Vatican’s financial watchdog authority reported on Monday that it received 104 suspicious activity reports in 2021, an increase from the previous year.
In a 35-page annual report, released on June 13, the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority (ASIF) said that it submitted 21 reports to the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice (prosecutor), the highest number in the past five years.
The watchdog authority is responsible for financial intelligence, as well as combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism. It supervises the Institute for the Works of Religion (the IOR or “Vatican bank”).
In its report, it said: “With regard to financial intelligence activities, in 2021 ASIF’s Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) received 104 reports of suspicious activity, 98 of which from the obliged entity [IOR], 5 from Vatican authorities, and 1 from a non-profit organization. No reports were received that were directly or indirectly linked to the financing of terrorism.”
“ASIF submitted 21 reports to the Office of the Promoter of Justice, the highest number recorded in the last five years; of these, 3 were first reports and 18 were supplemental reports.”
ASIF reported last year that it received 89 suspicious activity reports in 2020, 16 of which it forwarded to the Promoter of Justice for possible prosecution.
In 2019, it received 95 reports, compared to 83 in 2018, and 150 in 2017.
The 2021 report also disclosed that the ASIF sent 34 requests for information to foreign financial intelligence units, while receiving 19 such requests — fewer than in 2020.
ASIF president Carmelo Barbagallo described 2021 as a “year of consolidation” for the organization, which was established by Benedict XVI in 2010 and known as the Financial Information Authority (AIF) until it was renamed in December 2020.
He welcomed the “favorable outcome” of an eagerly awaited 2021 report by Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering watchdog.
In an interview with Vatican News, Barbagallo noted that the Moneyval review “is of fundamental importance for the action and financial reputation of the jurisdictions that adhere to it.”
“An eventual negative review would have repercussions on the path of transparency undertaken long ago by the Holy See and also risk also complicating financial relationships of institutions like the IOR or APSA with their foreign counterparts,” he said.
“On the other hand, the great work done in previous years, and especially more recently, has prevented that from happening.”
“However, we cannot ‘let our guard down’ in terms of the effectiveness of prevention and enforcement action, because continuous refinement action is imperative that includes frequent instances of verification, also in accordance with international standards.”
René Brülhart and Tommaso Di Ruzza, respectively the former president and director of the AIF, are among 10 people currently facing trial at the Vatican over allegations of financial impropriety.
Brülhart is facing the charge of abuse of office, while Di Ruzza stands accused of abuse of office and violation of the secret of the office. Both men deny the charges.
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