“To help the economy of the Holy See to meet its needs, taking care that economic activity does not distract or detract from the credibility of the Holy See’s mission of fostering unity in charity and the evangelising mission of the Church, which is what matters.”
In this interview with Vatican Media, Guerrero offers some data on the new budget of the Holy See, which has increased significantly this year due to the inclusion of new entities. Cost containment continues (further reduced by €4 million). The budgeted deficit is lower than that of last year, and the Prefect hopes to soon be able to provide data on the income and expenditure of Peter’s Pence as well, anticipating that this year too contribution of the faithful has decreased.
We are well aware that we have made major mistakes in financial management, which have undermined the credibility of the Holy See. We seek to learn from them and we believe we have remedied them so that they do not happen again. In recent years, encouraged by the Holy Father, we have taken important steps in the right direction in economic management: greater professionalisation, more teamwork, more transparency and less secrecy, establishment of oversight procedures, greater recognition of our weaknesses and attempting to remedy them… Important changes have been made with the publication of certain laws. But slowly, the culture is changing. We are working in the right direction.