Hey Pope francisco This Thursday (29) issued a new decree stipulating full economic transparency and control for administrators. Vatican, Including the Cardinals. The decree dictates that these people will not be able to receive gifts costing more than 40 euros, approximately $ 260.
The decision comes after another People’s law, in May last year, tightened the rules of the Vatican’s purchase contracts. The practice among clergy of giving gifts to each other has been the source of many scandals in the church in recent years.
In 2019, an investigation conducted by the United States Church found that Bishop Michael J. of West Virginia. Bransfield sent a personal check totaling about $ 350,000 to nearly 140 fellow clerics over a decade, including two cardinals from the US.
He later used church funds to secure reimbursement for checks. The investigation found him responsible for sexual harassment and financial irregularities by adults. Bransfield denied the allegations.
One of the Vatican cardinals who received gifts from Brettonfield returned the money and another said he had donated it.
Last year, the Vatican report on former US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick showed that for decades, he regularly made cash gifts to other clergy, including Vatican officials.
In 2019, after an internal investigation found that minors were convicted of sexual exploitation of minors and adults in addition to sexual exploitation, McCarrick was expelled from priesthood.
Control
The € 40 gift limit applies to all Vatican employees at any level and the rest of the decree for managers, whether pastors or laypeople.
According to the decree, managers must disclose their assets at the time of appointment and thereafter, every two years, regardless of the purpose of the financial investigation.
The decree also states that they cannot use tax havens or own property obtained with money from illegal activities.
Signatories must declare that they are also not held by third parties, investments or interests in companies listed as high risk for money laundering.
They cannot hold shares or other interests in companies whose policies are contrary to the social doctrine of the Church. This was a clear reference to pharmaceutical companies and those who severely damage the environment.
Pope said the team should follow “internationally accepted rules and best practices”, seeking transparency in key positions, to combat “conflicts of interest, customerism practices and corruption in general” needed.
In December, after the Pope scandal over a luxury property business in London, the charitable fund issued a decree of more transparent and increased control over the state secretariat.
