Pope Francis began his papacy in the context of the aftermath of the Vatileaks scandal and Pope Benedict XVI’s sudden resignation. It is significant that three months after Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope in 2013, he set up a commission called COSEA, composed of seven lay experts with the task of investigating the administrative and economic matters of the Holy See and the Vatican City.
I was privileged to be appointed president of this commission that worked around the clock to review the economic, financial and administrative structures and recommend improvements in the administration of Vatican assets, including property, examining ways to avoid duplication of work, and how to foster more transparency. The aim of having a more efficient administration is to release more money for health, education and other support programmes for the poor and those living on the margins of society.
The commission was guided by five principles for the reforms: establishing the ‘four eyes principle’ in the administration of economic and financial matters; the diffusion of concentration of power and authority; the promotion of transparency and the adoption of international standards in accounting and reporting. It was also guided by the principles of simplicity, rationalisation, and a system of checks and balance. It was asked to question the status quo.
There was an acknowledgement of the relevance of the universality of the Roman Catholic Church, which needs to be further seen in appointments in the Vatican Curia, and that the Church needs technical expertise, mostly from lay professionals, for the effective running of the Curia.
Without a change of mentality, efforts at practical improvement will be in vain
The apostolic letter of February 24, 2014, Fidelis Dispensator et Prudens, designed the three new structures for the administration of the Vatican: the Council for the Economy, composed of eight cardinals and seven lay experts, which is a sort of ‘finance Cabinet’ that establishes policies and has oversight over the administrative and financial structures and activities of the Curia; the Secretariat for the Economy – the Vatican’s finance ministry – which is responsible for the administrative services as well as financial control and vigilance over the dicasteries of the Curia; and the Auditor General (based on the Anglo-Saxon model), which is autonomous and is responsible to perform specific and regular audits over all Vatican entities. These three structures have been effectively operating for the past two and a half years, but not without facing resistance.
Pope Francis addressed the issue of resistance in his typical style during his annual meeting with leaders of the Roman Curia at the end of last year. “Reform is a sign of life, of a Church that advances on her pilgrim way,” he told the gathering, adding that reform will only work if those employed in the Curia are renewed, not simply replaced. “Without a change of mentality, efforts at practical improvement will be in vain.”
The Pope pointed directly at the need of change in culture, and he recited from a prayer of Fr Matta el Meskin addressing Baby Jesus: “Grant us to become small like you, so that we receive from you abundant humility and meekness… the epiphany of your infancy in our hearts, so that with it we can heal all our pride and all our arrogance.”
The Pope was criticised two years ago for listing 12 “diseases” that the Curia was suffering and that needed cure and even “surgical intervention”. He referred to these diseases again, this time calling for a “permanent personal and structural process conversion”.
The Pope’s speech was a great morale boost to Curia reformists. Again, he came up with 12 guiding principles for the reform that reinforce the direction given by COSEA three years ago – accountability, pastoral concern, missionary spirit, clarity in organisation, efficiency, modernisation, sobriety (simplification), subsidiarity, synodality (improved communication), Catholicity (universality in hiring staff), professionalism and gradualism (discernment).
Competence and experience are important in conducting administrative work, but our hearts need to be softened in order to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly” with God (Micah 6:8).
The process of change is both challenging and enduring, and will give the results expected only if it is conducted prudently and patiently but with perseverance. Pope Francis encourages us to change culture in this manner.