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Vatican at a Glance
Vatican Finances. How the story began
By Andrea Gagliarducci On 11 febbraio 2013 ·
In Vatican finances
Just one day after the death of Pope Pius XI, on February 10, 1939, Msgr. Angelo Pomata stood in front of a cahier’s window at Religious Works (the “ancestor” of the Institute for Religious Works). The cashier was Massimo Spada. Pomata was dispatched there by Eugenio Pacelli – who, after the death of the Pope, assumed the charge of Chamberlain. Pacelli (the future Pope Pius XII) asked Msgr. Pomata to deposit some money (Italian liras and dollars) found in a drawer of the Pope’s desk. Spada opened a bank account, to the name of “Segreteria di Stato – Obolo nuovi conti correnti” (Secretariat of State – Pence new accounts). This may be the starting point of the history of Vatican finances. Through that account, and then through the completely autonomous Institute for Religious Works –the so called «Vatican Bank», but which is actually more of a Trust Fund– the Pope can release funds at his own discretion. Funds to balance the Holy See’s budget, as recently happened. Or to deliver to charity. Or even funds –as it was with Pius XII– to be sent through safe channels, to help peace operations.
All too often, the mere mentioning of Vatican finances immediately prompts the depiction of mysterious scenarios and obscure arrangements. Recently, an article in the English newspaper The Guardian emphasized that it was funds that the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s gave the Vatican that allowed it to build a financial empire that now includes luxury shops in the heart of London. In reality, it is not quite so. History can help us to better understand Vatican finances reason for being. Basically, the Vatican’s financial structure was born with the establishment of Vatican City State, «that piece of land that permits us to fulfill our mission», in Pius XI’s words.
Vatican City State was born as the reparation for a wrongdoing. In 1870, the Bersaglieri soldiers of the Italian King Vittorio Emanuele opened a breach in Rome’s city walls, a dozen metres to the west of the Roman gate – known as Porta Pia – and marched down Via Pia, defeating Pope Pius IX’s troops. The Pope went into exile to Castel Gandolfo, and most of the Holy See’s patrimony was confiscated. It is in that period that Saint Peter’s Pence collection began. It was a spontaneous collection of offers from the faithful, and this allowed the Holy See to cover its bills. The Kingdom of Italy proposal for reparations, the legge delle guarentigie (Law of Guarantees) was a unilateral offer that did not compensate the Holy See for the loss of goods and lands. In addition, many lands belonging to monasteries and parishes were also confiscated, to give the economy of the Kingdom of Italy a respite. Relations between the Holy See and Italy were very tense. With time, this tension subsided. Catholics re-organized, overcame the Papal ban over political participation in the institutions of the Italian Kingdom, and gave birth to a political thought of their own, along the lines of the “new-born” social doctrine, inspired by Pope Leo XIII –who is considered by many one of the greatest philosophers of the last two centuries. Then, the First World War broke out. Pope Benedict XV was committed to peace, and frustrated by how difficult it was for the Holy See to conduct diplomatic relations. At the time, States entertained diplomatic relations with the Holy See through their embassies to Italy. Countries in war with Italy recalled their ambassadors, and so relations between the Holy See and these States in particular became very difficult. Benedict XV was keenly aware of this: a territory and a sovereign State was needed to carry a mission of peace.
When the First World War ended, Giovanni Giolitti was the Italian premier. Benedict XV considered the possibility of a «Conciliation» between the Church and the Italian State. Giolitti was against any such conciliation because he opposed (like some still do today) recognizing the Holy See’s sovereignty. «If the Vatican – Giolitti said – would ask me to for a fully sovereign territory the size of a postage stamp (and certainly it would ask for something much bigger), I wouldn’t give it to it. » Giolitti’s words are reported in the Conciliation Memoirs of Cardinal Pietro Gasparri, still unpublished, and also mentioned by Benny Lay – the dean of the vaticanologists – in his book Finanze Vaticane (Vatican Finances). Giollitti’s attitude moved the Vatican to turn its attention to Benito Mussolini, who – when he was just a member in the Chamber of Deputies – took the position that fascism should not preach or practice anti-clericalism. It was 1921. The following year, Mussolini rose to power.
http://www.mondayvatican.com/vatican-finances/vatican-finances-how-the-story-began