Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Discipline of Sister Who Led Community Co-Founded by Father Rupnik Raises QuestionsA religious sister who co-founded a community with the ex-Jesuit and accused abuser Father Marko Rupnik three decades ago was quietly removed in June from the governance of the community, banned from contacting current or former sisters for three years, and ordered to make monthly pilgrimages to pray for Father Rupnik’s victims.Sister Ivanka Hosta, the superior general of the Loyola Community since 1994, is staying in a monastery in Braga, in northern Portugal, following the conclusion of an investigation into her leadership of the religious community by...

Viganò Exposes Vatican Plan to Oust Traditional Nuns (Part 2)Some clarifications to restore the truth about the situation of the Monastery “Maria Tempio dello Spirito Santo” of PienzaPart IICanonical ProvisionsThis second part of my intervention in defense of the Nuns of Pienza, after the first part dedicated to the sequence of events (here) and a third part (soon to be published) regarding the initiatives that ought to be undertaken, addresses the canonical measures adopted by the Holy See with the collaboration of the Diocese of Chiusi-Pienza-Montepulciano and the Picena Federation of the Benedictine Order. These observations are based on...

Vatican memos: Financial office risked becoming ‘a charade’Internal Vatican documents from 2016 warned top financial departments risked "the appearance of ongoing reform, but with no real substance.”Internal Vatican reports warned in 2016 that a papally-created financial reform group was in danger of becoming “a charade.” Sources also say that Cardinal Angelo Becciu authorized that year a move to drain the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy’s bank account of millions of euros overnight, in a bid to undercut the department’s independence.Confidential Vatican records show that senior members of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy were warned in 2016 that the body,...

Did Pope Francis Protect His Graft-Ridden Cardinals?Yes, suggests a lawsuit from a fired Vatican auditor.A fired Vatican auditor and his deputy are suing the Holy See for $9.25 million, “alleging they were sacked after discovering financial irregularities,” according to an account by Reuters this week. The auditor, Libero Milone, says that Pope Francis signed off on his firing in 2017 after he exposed graft-ridden Vatican officials.Pope Francis appointed Milone to his position in 2015, ostensibly for the purpose of purifying the Vatican’s notoriously crooked finances and improving its financial practices. But, as usual, Pope Francis was more interested in talking...

Former Vatican Auditors Sue Vatican for DamagesLibero Milone and his former deputy Ferruccio Panicco are seeking to clear their name, five years after they say they were wrongfully dismissed. Libero Milone is suing the Vatican for nearly $10 milliion in damages after he and his colleague Ferruccio Panicco were forced to resign in 2017.VATICAN CITY — The Vatican’s first-ever auditor general and his former deputy are suing the Vatican after lengthy efforts to have the Vatican clear their name fell on deaf ears, following what they claim were unlawful dismissals. Libero Milone, a former chairman and CEO of Deloitte Italy,...

Bad News from London for the Pope. The Trial Puts the Screws on HimThere were two practical tasks that the cardinals entrusted to Jorge Mario Bergoglio when they elected him pope in 2013: the reform of the curia and the reorganization of Vatican finances.On the first point of the program, what holds sway is the apostolic constitution “Praedicate Evangelium,” issued on August 19 of 2022. On the second point, the publication of the Vatican balance sheets of 2021, at the beginning of this month of August.The reform of the curia will be evaluated by the consistory Pope Francis has convened...

The Trial of the Century Takes the Pope to Court. Which Also Risks an Incident With ChinaAmong the papers in the possession of the Vatican tribunal called to judge Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Becciu and other defendants, with the next hearing scheduled for January 25, there is an explanatory note at the top of which it is written that “during the board meeting of April 6 the Holy Father gave the authorization to make the aforementioned Note public.” Signed: Edgar Peña Parra, substitute secretary of state.This is what Settimo Cielo does in this post: provide readers with the essential features of...

Vatican Magistrature, or the Saga of Juridical MishapAfter its penultimate inspection, in 2017, Moneyval had reproved the papal judiciary for slacking off, failing to act on suspicious cases identified and reported by the Financial Information Authority, AIF, of the Vatican itself.But now that a new report from Moneyval - the committee of the Council of Europe that assesses compliance with the international financial standards of the participating states - is expected any day now, following an inspection that began last September 30 and lasted a dozen days, the fear at the Vatican is that the reprimand will be even more...

Pope Reorganizes Vatican Financial AssetsFurther cover-up?VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - In the wake of Vatican financial scandals, Pope Francis is formally stripping the Vatican Secretariat of State of its bank accounts and real estate holdings. Michael Hichborn of Lepanto Institute In a motu proprio — an edict issued and signed by the pope of his own initiative — published today, Francis formalized the transference of bank accounts, investments and real estate holdings from the Secretary of State to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APAS).The APAS will take over management and administration and will be subjected to ad...

Vatican Scandal: Exposed Pope Shuffles Deck Francis moves money matters to new department VATICAN CITY (ChurchMilitant.com) - Pope Francis has transferred responsibility for funds and real estate assets managed by the Secretariat of State to another department on the same day it was revealed that the scandal-ridden London property deal was made "with the approval of the Holy Father."Venezuelan homosexual Abp. Edgar Peña Parra The Vatican Press Office announced the transfer to the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) Thursday, as Italian newspaper La Stampa reported that the pope had also endorsed hiring Italian middleman Gianluigi Torzi for...