The new Pope looks forward to Maga’s compatriots to support his finances Vatican After decades of scandal and mismanagement, according to Politico. The conception that brought the Pope Leo In power he was overshadowed by painful divisions inside the church, a war between modernity and tradition and bitter concerns about the complex heritage of his predecessor. But there was also anxiety for a serious budgetary straits that forces the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics leader to seek funds at the same time.

Despite the Vatican’s treasures with invaluable masterpieces, Leo rose to the papal throne in the midst of a sudden crisis of liquidity that is exacerbated by a large decline in donations from the US, making the Vatican to function more and more difficult. Pope Leo has to correct it – but to do so he has to keep the traditional US Catholics on his side.

Analysts say that Pope Leo was partially elected because he was breathed by an Anglo -Saxon financial seriousness. He was also considered to be able to restore donations that have been reduced thanks to continuous scandals and the fall of support by powerful US Catholic Conservatives. Already, the bet seems to yield fruit.

“Speaking to some of the biggest donors in the country, they are completely excited,” said a conservative Catholic leader in the US, who spoke to Politico on condition of anonymity. “I don’t know if they are already writing their checks. I don’t necessarily see this yet. But in terms of their optimism and excitement, it is 10 out of 10 – absolutely. “

You need to be urgently enhanced by donations. According to Reuters, the latest internal evidence shows that the Vatican had a deficit of € 83 million in 2024, more than twice the € 38 million reported in the latest financial report of 2022. Vatican’s revenue comes mainly from assets and donations. But donations from donations have been reduced by increasing secularization and financial scandals.

The donors from the US, the country that contributes most, were discouraged by Francis’ most liberal teachings on the LGBTQ+ community and marriage, as well as the corruption scandals, said John Yep, president of the Catholics for Catholics organization.

The dynamic behind Pope Leo as a bridge resulted in the pre-sessions, when the cardinals began to predict that Pope Leonta’s alignment on hot conservative issues would help to mitigate the stance of the US Catholics. Pope Leo secured more than 100 votes in the Conclave, two well -informed Politico sources say, showing that his support was wide and included clergymen with a right -wing orientation. Pope Leo “is a very balanced person and can give something to the right, without shifting the Pontiff to the right,” a cardinal at Politico told.

Pope Leo has shown a willingness to deal with traditional priorities, taking special praise for his decision to return to the original papal residence from his predecessor’s main accommodation, as well as his preference to sing in Latin. This year’s Conclave also coincided with an annual Vatican event for the raising money, known as “American Week”, a week of wealthy parties in Rome, raising 1 billion euros for the Vatican if the “right Pope” was elected. The result is – theoretically – more money than the US. “American philanthropists want to see this so that they can reopen their funds,” Yep said. Pope Leo’s election “was a very clever choice because American money is definitely needed. The church is in a terrible financial situation, “said the aforementioned Catholics leader in the US. “American money is needed. And they were able to choose an American who is not so American. It was somehow a perfect choice. “

Corruption

But the restoration of trust will also require a reliable revision of the financial systems and the Vatican accounting after years of scandaling and the international image of the Church. Experts often accuse the miserable financial situation of the Vatican Bank’s alleged interconnections with an extensive money laundering scandal in the 1970s, allegedly involved in the mafia, the CIA, an anti -communist militias in Latin and a blackbird. London in 1982.

Creative accounting has continued over the years and the resignation of Francis’ predecessor, Benedictis, is partly due to a series of economic scandals leaked to the Italian press. In the context of the slide effort, Francis hired a former Deloitte accountant, Libero Milone, to control the finances of the Holy See.

Milone’s first task was investigating the various law firms that make up Curia, the government of the Vatican city. What he found surprised him. “They created an appropriate framework to bring the Vatican’s financial reports to the 21st century,” Milone told Politico. “But when they brought me to do the audit work, we were still operating in the previous century.” Economic reports were written in pencil from the nuns in “pieces of paper” and hid in drawers, Milone said. Theologians with elementary financial knowledge has massively underestimated the future cost of the pension obligations of the microcrat, he said. When Milone began to observe deviations in various budgets, he was accused of being a spy. Eventually, he was called upon for questioning and forced him to resign – then found that the resignation letter had already been prepared a month ago.

Francis did not sit with his hands crossed. The Vatican Bank is again profitable, after ending some of its darkest practices, and also presided over the conviction of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo Betsiou, a powerful secretary involved in a 200m -euro scandal in 2014. and wage cuts, Francis created a new committee to raise funds.

But the broader reform effort was seriously derailed with the departure of Milone, as well as Cardinal George Pell, an Australian who had been hired to lead a new secretariat for the economy, but was called upon to return to Australia to face charges of abuse. Officials describe a constant lack of transparency,

So far, Pope Leo has implied that he will prioritize resources over austerity, announcing a 500 euro bonus for church officials. He has also signaled that he wants to remove the Vatican from past scandals, approving a new investigation into a key witness against the conviction of Cardinal Bechio, who could help overturn his condemnation in the fall. In addition, he will consider ways to increase the profits in the huge Holy See Portfolio, after hierarchs complained of subcutaneously.

How all this will evolve will depend not only on American generosity, but also on whether Pope Leo can enhance the growing group of church realists who recognize that even the Holy See should occasionally retreat to earthly responsibilities, such as the basic economic planning. For others, the Divine Mission continues to prevail with everything – whatever the cost. “There will always be a way to find money, as there will always be poor,” said one hierarch in St. Peter’s Square last month. “At the moment, my concern is lunch.”