Vatican City – Former Vatican economic czar Cardinal George Pell warns in a new book that the Catholic institution faces a growing deficit, but he hopes financial reform efforts have put an end to money laundering. money in the small city-state.

Pell’s latest book, ” Prison Journal, Volume 3: High Court frees innocent man”, Was released in November and is the latest installment detailing his experiences in prison. Pell was jailed for more than a year in 2019 after being charged with sexually abusing minors in Victoria, Australia, and was acquitted on appeal by the country’s High Court in April 2020 for lack of evidence.

The book touches on a variety of topics, from how the cardinal’s faith and support sustained him during his imprisonment to his political views, but it also touches on “corruption in Rome,” Pell told Religion News Service in a telephone interview on Wednesday (Nov. 17).

“I think the main challenge is that the Vatican is running out of money. This is the main reality of the moment, ”said Pell, adding that the red toll is due to“ years of old-fashioned methodology, incompetence and corruption ”.

Pell also fended off criticism of Cardinal Angelo Becciu – often portrayed as his rival in his efforts to reform Vatican finances – and questioned Becciu’s transfer of funds from the Vatican to Australia, which some say influenced Pell’s trial and imprisonment in 2019.

Pope Francis appointed Pell prefect of the Vatican Economic Secretariat in 2014, to lead the pope’s ambitious plans to reform the Catholic institution’s struggling finances. His time at the Vatican was cut short once he was summoned to court in Australia, but he said he was keeping a close eye on recent developments in the church’s finances.

“The financial pressures in the Vatican are, really, very real,” he added. “We don’t know how many people are going to Heaven or Hell, but we do know when we are under financial pressure and we know if we are going to go bankrupt. “

Financial scandals involving millions of dollars have drained Vatican coffers for decades. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has imposed travel bans in Italy and around the world, has been a blow to an institution that relies heavily on the millions of tourists who visit the Vatican Museums each year. According to Vatican’s 2021 budget, the institution is bracing for a $ 60 million deficit.

While Vatican City has no debt, the cardinal said, “We have been spending too much every year for at least 10 years. The Vatican’s finances were depleted by flawed investments, such as a $ 200 million investment in prime London real estate that ended up costing the institution almost double in questionable fees and commissions.

The property is currently being sold for a loss of $ 100 million. This controversial investment, made between 2014 and 2019 by the Vatican Secretariat of State with funds earmarked for the Pope’s charities, is at the heart of a Mega trial in Vatican of 10 clergy and employees – including Becciu – accused of corruption, money laundering and abuse of power.

Pell considers his time as the Vatican finance czar “frustrating”, but believes the trial “is evidence of some progress.”

While they were prefect, the cardinal and his team of reformers did not have the right to check the accounting books of the secretariat of state. In his book, Pell specifies that, if the Secretariat for the Economy had jurisdiction to supervise the investments of the Secretariat of State, “the elements there were hostile to any external light on their activities”.

Without wanting to comment on the ongoing Vatican trial, the cardinal believes that the London investment has dealt a further blow to the already damaged Vatican finances.

“Old habits die hard,” Pell wrote in his book, referring to the financial scandals that undermined the reputation of the Vatican in the 1980s and 2000s. He expressed dismay that “rogue elements controlling certain sections of the Vatican continued to deal with notorious financial agents, who robbed them of more than 100 million euros (at least) over the past ten years ”.

Pell said, “It is very important to the reputation of the church that these legal proceedings are conducted properly and fairly. Defense lawyers in the proceedings complained about a lack of due process at trial and missing evidence.

“We have to be people who show that we obey the law and that we follow the law,” he said.

In the book, Pell alluded to press reports suggesting that funds had been sent from the Secretary of State to Australia to influence Pell’s criminal prosecution. Since 2014, around $ 7.3 million has been transferred from the Vatican to Australia, but a Vatican statement claimed the amount was used to pay contracts and manage embassy fees.

In the foreword to the book, author and Catholic commentator George Weigel demands that “if there are any links between financial corruption in Rome and the prosecution of George Pell, they must be identified.”

Becciu, who was the replacement at the Vatican’s Secretariat of Economy when investing in London, a role equivalent to that of chief of staff, objected to the allegations in a statement released through his lawyers . “The matter has been denied by the relevant authorities,” the statement said, regretting that Pell “continues to support such suspicions” and promoting “imaginative innuendos and plots.”

The statement also underlined the independence of the Secretariat of State from outside interference. Pope Francis stripped Becciu of his cardinal rights and functions in the Vatican and moved the management of funds from the secretariat at the offices of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, or APSA.

“Some of the money went from the Vatican to Australia,” said Pell, a transaction that local authorities called “rather questionable”.

“I would invite the cardinal to tell us why the money was sent, for what purposes,” he added.

Despite the scandals and the financial deficit, Pell remains optimistic about the future of the Vatican reform. “I believe that we have stopped money laundering and I hope the facts confirm that to me,” he said. The cardinal urged the institution to continue with its reform plan and to reintroduce external auditors. He also cautioned against selling church assets to cover the financial deficit.

“The main challenge facing Vatican financial services now is simply paying the bills and balancing the budget. Most of the corruption cases have been dealt with, I believe, ”he said.