Pope Francis meeting with Roberto Benigni, Dec. 7, 2022. / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Dec 7, 2022 / 08:17 am (CNA).
Pope Francis enthusiastically greeted Italian actor and comedian Roberto Benigni at the Vatican on Wednesday morning.Benigni, … […]
Pope Francis speaking at the general audience on St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, Nov. 30, 2022 / Daniel Ibáñez / CNA
CNA Newsroom, Dec 6, 2022 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis issued a decree on Tuesday aimed at improving the financial accountability of funds, foundations, and other legal entities inside the Vatican.
In the future, these entities — also known as juridical persons — will be controlled by the bodies such as the Secretariat for the Economy and not just supervised by their respective institutions.
The motu proprio is complemented by a law covering entities in the Vatican City State. Both were published Dec. 6 and come into force on Dec. 8.
Pope Francis noted in his apostolic letter that foundations and other affected entities “are instrumental in the realization of the ends proper to the curial institutions at the service of the ministry of the Successor of Peter.”
It was therefore necessary, he added, “that they be subject not only to the supervision of the curial institutions from which they depend, but also to the control and surveillance of the economic bodies of the Roman Curia.”
Already existing instrumental juridical persons will have to comply with the provisions of the motu proprio within three months.
The scope of the law is limited, according to Vatican News: It does not extend to “curial institutions and offices of the Roman Curia, institutions connected with the Holy See, the Governorate of Vatican City State, and entities professionally engaged in activities of a financial nature.”
The news follows the announcement on Nov. 30 that Pope Francis has appointed Maximino Caballero Ledo, 62, to lead the Secretariat for the Economy following the resignation of Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero. The Spanish layman has been secretary general, the second-ranking position, in the economy office since August 2020.
Pope Francis established the Secretariat for Economy in 2014 as part of his financial reform of the Vatican. It oversees the financial aspects of both the Roman Curia and the Vatican City State administration, including a review of financial reports.
Winter in Kyiv, Ukraine (2018) / Viktor Bystrov / Unsplah (CC0)
Rome Newsroom, Dec 6, 2022 / 03:24 am (CNA).
The Vatican’s charity office is holding a drive to collect thermal shirts for people in Ukraine as they face an energy emergency amid t… […]
Pope Francis gives his Angelus address on Dec. 26, 2021. / Credit: Vatican Media.
Vatican City, Dec 4, 2022 / 06:15 am (CNA).
St. John the Baptist reminds us that Advent is a privileged time to turn back toward God — something it is never too l… […]
The Vatican’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 3, 2022. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA
Vatican City, Dec 3, 2022 / 13:10 pm (CNA).
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Vatican. A large hand-carved wooden nativity scene was unveiled i… […]
null / Credit: Shutterstock
CNA Newsroom, Dec 2, 2022 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
A watch worn by Pope Francis was sold Wednesday at a charity auction and set a new world record for the brand.The LaViolette Scholarship Foundation auctioned off a Swatch O… […]
Pope Francis with members of the group Leaders Pour la Paix at the Vatican, Dec. 2, 2022 / Vatican Media
Rome Newsroom, Dec 2, 2022 / 05:50 am (CNA).
Pope Francis said Friday that the war between Russia and Ukraine is an example of the “globali… […]
Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk records a video message in Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 8, 2022. / news.ugcc.ua.
Rome Newsroom, Dec 2, 2022 / 05:20 am (CNA).
Two Catholic priests captured by Russian troops are “being tortured without mercy,” th… […]
Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI greet each other at the 65th priestly ordination of Pope Emeritus XVI at the Clementine Hall. / © L’Osservatore Romano
CNA Newsroom, Dec 1, 2022 / 05:06 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Thursday praised the … […]
Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square, Sept. 28, 2022 / Pablo Esparza / CNA
Rome Newsroom, Dec 1, 2022 / 04:41 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has rescheduled his trip to the African countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan for Jan. 31-Feb. 5, 2023, the Vatican announced on Thursday.
The visit was originally to take place in the beginning of July 2022, but was postponed by the Vatican due to problems with Pope Francis’ knee. The 85-year-old pope apologized in June for having to put off the trip, and vowed to reschedule it “as soon as possible.”
Francis will spend the first leg of the trip, Jan. 31-Feb. 3, in the Congolese city of Kinshasa, before visiting the South Sudanese capital, Juba, Feb. 3-5.
An updated schedule released by the Vatican Dec. 1 showed that the pope no longer plans to visit the city of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, part of the original trip schedule.
The logo and motto for the trip were announced in March 2022.
Francis’ visit to South Sudan will be a “pilgrimage of peace,” and take place together with the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields.
Pope Francis will be the first pope to visit South Sudan, which became the world’s newest country when it declared independence from the Republic of the Sudan on July 9, 2011. The nation in east-central Africa has a population of 11 million people, around 37% of whom are Catholic.
In 2019, Pope Francis brought South Sudanese leaders together at the Vatican for a “spiritual retreat” aimed at resolving their differences.
He also celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for Congolese immigrants in 2019, marking the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Congolese Catholic Chaplaincy of Rome.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a Central African country of around 90 million people, roughly half of whom are Catholic. Pope John Paul II visited the country, then known as Zaire, in 1980.
After reluctantly bowing out of his own scheduled trip to Africa in July, Pope Francis sent the Vatican’s second-highest-ranking official in his place, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.
The pope also celebrated a Mass for Rome’s Congolese community in St. Peter’s Basilica on July 3, the day he was due to offer Mass in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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