Catholics must know how Peter’s Pence is spent, Vatican official says – Detroit Catholic: Read Catholic News & Stories

The head of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy said he hopes efforts at financial transparency and reform will foster Catholics’ trust ahead of the annual Peter’s Pence collection. In an interview with Vatican News June 25, Jesuit Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, said Catholics “have the right to know how we spend the money given to us.” “Sometimes contradictions arise from a lack of knowledge, which, in turn, comes from a lack of transparency,” Fr. Guerrero said. Peter’s Pence is a papal fund used for charity, but also to support the running of the Roman Curia and Vatican embassies around the world. The collection for the fund occurs each year around June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. However, several reports in recent years have alleged that only a small portion of the money received annually was used for charity while the majority of the contributions were used to fill the gap in the Vatican’s administrative budget. More recently, in September, questions arose as to whether funds from the Peter’s Pence collection were used to finance the Vatican Secretariat of State’s purchase of a majority stake in a property in London’s Chelsea district, a purchase which incurred major debts.

Catholics must know how Peter’s Pence is spent, Vatican official says – Detroit Catholic: Read Catholic News & Stories