Home » The Pontifical Authority to publish financial statements for the first time: challenges under the epidemic-Vatican News

The Pontifical Authority to publish financial statements for the first time: challenges under the epidemic-Vatican News

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The Pontifical Property Management Bureau published a detailed document describing the activities and work of the institution. During 2020, the income and contributions of the Pontifical Authority to the Holy See have been reduced, and the financial investment has exceeded 1 billion euros. Bishop Galantino, Chairman of the Pontifical Administration of Property Management: This institution meets the needs of those who have difficulty paying. Although the income has decreased, the results are positive for us, because the willingness to “act as a church” emerges from it.

(Vatican News Network)The Pontifical Property Administration (Apsa) has less than 51 million euros in revenue during 2020 and financial investments equivalent to 1.778 billion euros. The institution’s required contribution to the Holy See has been halved, from 41 million euros to 20 million euros. However, considering the serious consequences of the epidemic, such results are still positive. This is the first time the Pontifical Property Management Bureau has disclosed its financial statements since its establishment in 1967. This document involves activities in 2020. The chairman of the institution, Bishop Galantino, stated that the decision to disclose the financial statements was based on the “hope” to increase confidence in the church’s actions, and intends to use it to promote the transformation of the institution. It has changed from an “organization that mainly provides services according to requirements” to an “active entity” in the management of entrusted assets.

This is not the first time that the Pontifical Property Management Bureau has compiled internal financial statements and submitted them to regulatory agencies for approval. In an interview with the Vatican media, Bishop Galantino clarified: “This has already happened before.” However, this is the first time that the Pontifical Property Administration has made financial statements public. The bishop said: “This is certainly a step forward on the path of transparency.”

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It is worth noting that on December 28, 2020, Pope Francis transferred the funds and real estate of the Holy See State Council to the Pontifical Property Administration through a handwritten letter. Bishop Galantino pointed out that this process is not just a “transfer of property and authority,” but also a “new culture”; and this culture “is not only about the administrative level, we must gradually develop a sense of belonging to it.”

This very detailed financial statement describes the work done by the Pontifical Property Administration during the medical and health crisis in these months. Furthermore, the report also provides useful information to clarify false rumors about the assets of the Holy See. For example, according to the interpretation of this document, the Holy See, due to the lease of well-known real estate in Paris and London, allowed the Pope’s Relief to use the historical building such as Palazzo Migliori (Palazzo Migliori) for free. Wisdom groups can thus receive the homeless here.

This document also mentions a real estate transaction near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris: under the mediation of a Vatican company, the seller used part of the proceeds to build a church in a poor area of ​​Paris. Bishop Galantino explained: “This real estate was purchased on December 22, 2017 to increase the income of the Holy See, while also providing resources to build churches in the suburbs and nurture youth.” The value of this real estate is 13.47 million euros. , The gross return rate is equivalent to 2.87%.

In addition, the document also describes the three main areas of work of the Pontifical Property Management Authority. The first area is real estate: the agency manages 4051 units in Italy, 92% of which are located in Rome’s urban and provincial areas. The second area is movable property, namely: investment for the Holy See and other Vatican institutions in international stocks, consulting, financial solutions, and access to capital markets. The third area is called “Other Activities”. Most of these services are free of charge. The units that provide services include the Purchasing Office, Accounting Office and the “St. Peter’s Pilgrimage Office” (Peregrinatio Ad Petri Sedem) and so on. The “Peter’s Pilgrimage Office” is responsible for the logistic arrangements for tickets and travel for the Holy See.

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This report also covered the “negative impact” of the social-economic consequences of the epidemic on the management results at a large length. Bishop Galantino explained: “The activities that all members of the Pontifical Authority are promoting far exceed the serious consequences of the epidemic crisis. We are doing our best to be a credible and reliable administrative unit, not just focusing on efficiency and efficiency. We strive to act with rational discussion, high transparency and professionalism, all of which are also required by Pope Francis.”

Based on this point of view, when the epidemic broke out in March 2020, the Holy See Agency decided to meet the needs of commercial activities, cancel part of the rent, and reduce the rent by 30 to 50% according to the situation of commercial activities. Bishop Galantino emphasized, “In terms of technology and results, what we have done is not conducive to achieving positive results. But for us, the results are still positive, because even at the moment when everyone’s disaster is imminent, The willingness to “act as a church” is still emerging.”

This report also presents an “empty house” plan. In other words, the agency must take specific actions to gradually reduce the number of real estate that is not rented out, renovate 100 apartments in batches, and invite real estate companies to participate. The first batch of projects is expected to start in January 2022.

Regarding tax issues, the Pontifical Property Management Authority stated that during the 2020 tax year, the agency has paid Italy 5.95 million euros in city housing tax and 2.88 million euros in corporate income tax. In addition, Bishop Galantino reiterated that the institution is committed to investing in initiatives that have “social impact”, and also indicated that the investment managed by the institution has increased to 17 with the deadline of December 31, 2020. Billion euros, and its management rate of return is equivalent to 1.53%. This confirms that careful management can be achieved even in difficult environments.

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Finally, the Pontifical Authority is also promoting a draft of a three-year plan, through which this plan will promote the achievement of effectiveness and efficiency goals, and this also depends on the transparency and cooperation of every staff member in the institution. In the atmosphere” work together. Bishop Galantino said that in the process of all this, everyone realized that “the Pontifical Property Administration has an obligation to safeguard the assets entrusted to them, improve them and make them profitable.”

Link URL: www.vaticannews.cn

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