Things were
done that "don't seem clean to me" about the acquisition of a
flat in London at the centre of a Vatican financial scandal,
Pope Francis said on his way back from a trip to Thailand and
Japan Tuesday.
He said there was a "presumption" of corruption in the
affair, and that questioning would take place soon.
"There aren't only problems in Hong Kong," he added.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the assistant Vatican secretary of
state, on October 29 rejected charges against him in the Vatican
probe into a property deal in London.
"They are slanderous charges that I reject in a firm and
indignant way. My conscience is clear and I know I have always
acted in the interest of the Holy See and never in my personal
one. Those who know me well can attest to that", he told ANSA.
The charge he rejected most forcefully was "portraying me as
someone who played with and tampered with the money of the
poor".
"In the Secretariat of the State we had a fund entitled
'money of the poor'. And it was destined for the poor. If, on
the other hand, for money of the poor they want to refer to
Peter's Pence, we have to clarify.
"The Pence is not only for the pope's alms giving but also
the funding for his Pastoral ministry".
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin said
earlier Tuesday that he was confident Vatican investigations
will "shed light" on the "opaque" use of Peter's Pence for a
property deal in London.
The deal is at the centre of a probe which saw investigators
this month raid the offices of two Vatican departments, the
Financial Information Authority (AIF) and the Secretariat of
State, and the preventative suspension of five employees, one of
whom has since been reinstated.
When asked about how the Catholic Church's money is managed,
Parolin replied "I think it is well administered".
The Secretariat reportedly invested around $200 million for a
stake in a project to buy a building in Chelsea and convert the
property into luxury apartments in 2014.
It reportedly bought up the rest of the project in 2018.
Becciu told ANSA "why should (the transactions) be opaque?"
"It is accepted practice for the Holy See to invest in
property, it has always done so: in Rome, in Paris, in
Switzerland and also in London.
"Pius XII was the first to acquire property in London. We
were advanced this proposal on this historic and artistic
building and when it was done and realised there was nothing
opaque. The investment was regular and registered according to
law".
He said "the difficulties started with the majority partner,
with whom I believe issues regarding the management of the
liquidity arose.
He did not cite the manager of the fund, Raffaele Mincione.
"He, in fact, ignoring the indications reiterated on numerous
occasions, also in writing, continued to invest in assets that
the Secretariat of State could not absolutely share or approve",
said Becciu.
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