Cardinal Bertone needs to be presumed innocent until proven guilty, of course, as we can't discount the possibility that he has been framed ... but I have to say that, given my research, I'm not at all surprised that these accusations have surfaced. If true, it's all very sad and shocking, particularly when you consider that this is the man who was technically in charge of the Church after Benedict XVI's resignation. The Secretary of State's office unfortunately can't be said to have a spotless history (several separate sources have for example implicated the Secretariat in the death of John Paul I). Once more the idea that the Body of Christ is going through a re-run of Holy Week comes inescapably to mind... Which of Christ's disciples was it that handled the finances and was guilty of embezzlement? Say a prayer for Cardinal B.: whatever he's done, there is still time to repent, and we would all applaud him for it.
On the Radio Vatican website (French language version) there is a report of Cardinal Bertone's formal denial of the charges of embezzlement levelled by the German newspaper Bild : he is arguing that the transaction between the Vatican Bank and the production company LUX VIDE was officially agreed and minuted. http://fr.radiovaticana.va/news/201...cusations_de_détournement_de_fonds/fr1-800761 Who's telling the truth here? Only time will tell. What looks certain if past behaviour is anything to go by is that Cardinal B. is pretty combative and won't go down without a fight.
Just found this more detailed report from the Italian Panorama website, written by Ignazio Ingrao (who is a heavyweight source). Ingrao's hypothesis is that Bertone's denial of the existence of a criminal investigation against him may be technically correct according to the letter of the law. The spirit of it is a different matter...). http://news.panorama.it/cronaca/urbi-et-orbi/cardinale-bertone-milioni-spariti-ior (translation mine with help from Google. For those who don't know, the IOR is the Vatican Bank) According to Bild-Zeitung Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has been placed under investigation in the Vatican for taking 15 million euro from IOR ( Institute for Works of Religion ) for Lux Vide, the television production company of Ettore Bernabei. Panorama has reconstructed the story as follows as it developed: January 31, 2013 : the loan in convertible bonds expires which had been subscribed by Intesa San Paolo in favour of Lux Vide Ettore Bernabei on November 18, 2009, amounting to EUR 8,469,743.61, made up of 16,500,572 nominal bonds at an annual rate of interest of 4.5%. Lux Vide, a production company which has always been close to the Vatican and specializes in historical and religious dramas (the Bible, John XXIII, Paul VI , the series 'Don Matteo' ), needs an intervention by outside parties. It asks for help from the Vatican, which through the IOR (which at the time was supervised by Bertone as president of the Cardinals' Surveillance Commission) intervenes in turn by subscribing to those bonds. A few days later (February 11) Benedict XVI resigns. The IOR is without a president not following the ousting of president Ettore Gotti Tedeschi in May. The Lux Vide operation therefore doesn't pass formally through the collegial bodies of surveillance and control of the Vatican's Credit Institution. Before Ratzinger finally leaves the papacy and sede vacante begins (28 February), Bertone obtains the confirmation of the Cardinals' Surveillance Commission presided over by himself and appoints a new IOR president in the person of German Ernst von Freyberg. July 2013: Pope Francis, newly elected to the papal throne,asks light to be shed on the accounts of the IOR. President von Freyberg entrusts in-depth analysis of the accounts and assets of the Institute to the American consulting firm Promontory. An examination of the liabilities of the Institute shows significant exposure in the case of Lux Vide. In December 2013 the Cardinals' Surveillance Commission is convened which puts, among other topics, on the agenda the resolution of the problem of exposure towards Lux Vide. The Commission decides to terminate (cancel) the agreement with the IOR and to transfer the bonds, converted into shares, to a foundation close to the Holy See. The realization of this operation, carried out at the end of 2013, results in a net loss for the IOR of 15 million Euros that will be offset [valorizzati] in the next annual financial statements. Bertone denies that there is an investigation against him on the part of the Vatican judicial prosecutor [promotore di giustizia vaticano]. This is also the conclusion of Panorama as in this story there seem to be no elements relating to criminal law, such as to open an investigation by the Vatican justice department. It is rather a question regarding the management of the IOR and the use of its funds. One might imagine that, in the work undertaken by the new supervisory and managemental bodies of the Vatican Credit Institution, aiming to bring it back to its original function, as requested by the Pope, other operations of this kind may come to light.
In secular society if a very high raking person like Cardinal Bertone is implicated in something they usually get off because they know too many secrets. Cardinal Bertone must know hundreds of secrets. I would be surprised if some kind of arrangement is not made. But it is all so very,very sad.
Vatican press spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi has just issued a statement denying that Cardinal Bertone is under penal investigation: http://www.gazzettadelsud.it/news/92831/Bertone-not-probed-says-Vatican---update.html
Off course. If there was one there there no longer is and if there was not there is not. Either way it is the truth.
This would not be good coming at a time when the Holy Father is leaving for Israel. The infighting is combative and shameful at the least. Its an interesting spiritual war inside the Vatican. I urge everyone to read 'The Jesuits' by Fr. Malachi Martin asap. Its eye opening and rather enjoyable. Dan Brown has NUTHIN compared to what has transpired in the 20th Century. God Have Mercy!
The Vatican is a complete mystery to me; who knows really what is going on there? I hope much of it, well the great most of it is good, please God. We only ever seem to hear the bad. I heard a nice thing from an Irish Dominican a few years back who was a Papal household theologian and lived a floor or two below Pope Benedict and had met him several times. He said what a nice, shy, kind, holy man Pope Benedict was and how he hated all the fuss and attention. The exact opposite of the media blurb at the time. I have often thought what a strange place to live. I don't envy them. It seems so beautiful but so.....well strange.
Oh, I agree Padraig. I always prayed and still do for Benedict XVI. Such a humble soul. I hope him stepping down doesn't keep him from being canonized. I personally think he is a great saint!
He was. I still don't think he should have resigned. I have to say as time goes by I grow stronger in that opinion. I don't judge him for it, for I see now he was in a terrible position.
I'm reading a book right now about the life of Pope Francis. The beginning is all about all the popes who stepped down. He is certainly not the first at all and every one of the popes of the 20th century wrote about doing it or talked with their confreres about it. Its documented. I was surprised and pleased that there was so much documentation regarding it. Many more popes throughout history spoke about it too.
I agree with Peter's earlier comment that we need to presume Cardinal Bertone's innocence in this matter but I couldn't resist copying this article (which is actually a defence of Bertone) because of the incredibly funny (to me!!) photo at the top of it... Pope Francis’ Simplicity vs. Cardinal Bertone’s Elegance: Let’s Clear This Up Once and For All June 2, 2014 By Kathy Schiffer 0 Comments Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (before his election to the papacy), wearing simple vestments, looks at Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone’s richly embroidered vestments IS POPE FRANCIS UPSET because Cardinal Bertone is moving into a larger residence in Vatican City? According to The Independent, sources claim that Pope Francis is “furious” that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, retiring from his position as the Vatican’s Secretary of State, is creating a lavish home for his retirement. The insinuation is that Pope Francis–who has repeatedly called for a “poorer church” and who has chosen to live in the Domus Sancta Marthae, a “simple guest house”, rather than the “sumptuous” Apostolic Palace–is unhappy with Cardinal Bertone’s choice of a retirement home. But according to Cardinal Bertone himself, he and the Pope are in harmony, and Pope Francis has phoned him personally to express “his solidarity and disappointment at the attacks directed at me over the apartment.” Cardinal Bertone further disputes reports that his retirement digs will be 7,500 square feet–insisting that it is only half that size. He explains that it is usual for apartments in Vatican City to be large; and the space will be shared with three religious sisters, who will help with maintaining the residence and administrative tasks. Asked about the veracity of the reports, Father Federico Lombardi S.J., head of the Vatican Information Service, has declined to comment. * * * * * But I’ll comment! I have read the incendiary reports with some bemusement. Here’s the thing: I’ve been there. I’ve toured the Vatican Gardens and have walked past the two residences, which stand behind St. Peter’s Basilica. INSIDE THE DOMUS SANCTA MARTHAE with Fr. Wojciech Giertych and Dan Kidd, former president of Guest House I’ve visited the Domus Sancta Marthae (and have written about that experience here). There, we enjoyed a lively conversation with then-resident Fr. Wojciech Giertych, O.P., theologian of the papal household. I’ve even been inside the apartment reserved for the Vatican Secretary of State,inside the Governatorato, which houses the government of the Vatican City-State. I was there with a delegation from Guest House in 2006, just before departing president Cardinal Edmund Szoka left the post. INSIDE THE GOVERNATORATO with Cardinal Szoka All the furniture except for the altar and chapel furnishings had already been removed, as Cardinal Szoka prepared for his return to the Archdiocese of Detroit, where he would spend his retirement; but he welcomed us and celebrated Mass for our group in the chapel. With us for Mass were the three smiling sisters who had cared for his affairs during his tenure. And I have a few observations regarding the controversies generated by the media regarding disparate living conditions at the Vatican: Pope Francis “lives” at the Domus Sancta Marthae. That’s become a favorite meme of the media, who like to take jabs at bishops who live seemingly more affluent lifestyles. But most frequently, the Pope “meets” heads of state and dignitaries inside the walls of the Apostolic Palace, which is available for his use (and which is, by the way, full of such unglamorous spaces as administrative offices for the Swiss Guard and others, libraries, storage rooms, and a few rooms dedicated for use by the Holy Father, such as a private chapel). The Pope also celebrates Mass and prays at St. Peter’s Basilica and other Rome churches and, most especially, at the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore–so in a certain sense, all of those spaces belong to him, too. And regardless of where he has his own soft bed, he has full command of the resources of the Vatican Libraries and Vatican Museums, just as have other popes before him. It’s simply unhelpful to contrast this pope’s sleeping space with, say, Pope Benedict’s sleeping space at the Mater Ecclesiae. It’s also inappropriate to judge the mixed-use, business/personal, offices/residences/private chapels in Vatican City by the standards of the American suburbs. There’s an old slogan, “We all put our pants on the same way.” Similarly, there is a truth regarding humans and how we sleep: in one spot, probably in a bed, sometimes rolling over, sometimes not. And Pope Francis, like the popes before him, has sufficient space to do what he needs to get done–whether that space is within his own residence, or elsewhere in Vatican City, in Rome, or around the world. Oh, and there’s one other factor I’d like to point out which might end the whole kerfuffle: POPE FRANCIS AND CARDINAL BERTONE WILL BE NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBORS. (Domus Sancta Marthae is No. 57 on this map of Vatican City; the Palazzo San Carlo, where Cardinal Bertone will occupy one floor, is No. 55.)
from: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/08/04/uk-vatican-bank-bertone-idUKKBN0G414F20140804 Vatican bank's TV investment loss showed cardinal's power BYPHILIP PULLELLA VATICAN CITYMon Aug 4, 2014 1:56pm BST Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is greeted by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (R) as he arrives to attend a consistory ceremony in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican February 22, 2014. CREDIT: REUTERS/MAX ROSSI (Reuters) - Two years ago, the Vatican bank invested 15 million euros in an Italian television company that makes family movies, including films about popes and a series about a bike-riding country priest who helps police solve crimes. The Vatican's then Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone ordered the investment in Lux Vide SpA, which he said shares the Holy See's "lofty goal of evangelisation". Bertone, who was the second-in-command to former Pope Benedict, pushed the deal through despite objections from the bank's director and board members, who thought the expense was too big and not justified for the bank, according to current and former bank executives. Last month, the Vatican booked a loss for the entire amount spent, as part of a wider review of Vatican finances that has also led to the closure of hundreds of accounts at the Institute for Religious Works, or IOR by its Italian acronym, as the bank is called. Bertone, who still stands by the decision to invest in the televisioncompany, said that when the bank approved the deal it did so with the board's unanimous consent. The zeroing of the Lux Vide investment is emblematic of Pope Francis's effort to loosen ties between the Holy See andItaly'sbusinessand political world, a longstanding network of relations the Argentine pontiff considers improper to the Church's religious mission. In his first 16 months in office, Pope Francis has been trying to reform the Curia, as the Vatican's central administration is called. He has hired international consulting firms to improve financial accounting procedures. He has given broad economic powers to an Australian cardinal seen as distant from the centres of power inItaly. In the process, one of the biggest changes has been to curtail the powers of the Vatican Secretary of State, in particular over the Holy See's financial affairs. The Secretary of State has always held an important role, serving effectively as deputy pope. But Bertone had amassed an unusually overarching power over Vatican administration and finances when he held the role between 2006 and 2013. Former Pope Benedict, a theologian who continued writing professorial books after his election, had little interest in administrative affairs and gave Bertone free rein in running the Vatican administration. Much of Bertone's power, which sowed such conflict within the Vatican over the years as to accelerate Pope Benedict's decision to retire in February 2013, was wielded through the IOR. Bertone presided over a committee of cardinals that oversaw the bank's board and directors. According to former bank executives, Bertone backed a proposal for the IOR to buy up to 25 percent of Lux Vide in 2010 and, again in 2012. Both times, the bank's directors tried to reject the deal, saying it was not in the IOR's interest to invest in television companies and that the price was high, said the executives who asked not to be identified because they are not allowed to speak about bankbusiness. But the deal was eventually approved. "The board said 'this is not a good idea' but could not block the deal," said a current bank official. "The message was: the boss (Bertone) wants this."
