Oct. 10, 2017.

Reform of the Vatican’s finances has been a top priority for Pope Francis. However, after some initial successes he has now suffered several serious reverses:

• An independent financial audit of the Vatican’s finances by PwC was abruptly halted
• Cardinal Pell who heads the new Secretariat of the Economy is in Australia facing sexual abuse charges in court which could see him away from Rome for a year – and no replacement has been appointed
• The highly respected Auditor General Libero Milone was appointed on a 5-year contract but left after 2 years. Milone says he was forced to quit after finding irregularities.

It appears obvious that some powerful members of the Curia do not want transparency in financial matters. The problem seems to lie in Vatican culture, where each Vatican department guards its autonomy. While most Vatican departments now prepare accounts covering their running costs, there are no public accounts of the Vatican’s property and investment portfolios, which are spread over a number of departments. The Vatican’s property portfolio is estimated at €10billion but these details are kept secret.  

Pope Francis has said: “If we don’t know how to look after money, which we can see, how can we look after the souls of the faithful, which we cannot?”

We Are Church International fully supports Pope Francis’ financial reforms aimed at accountability and transparency. “We call on Pope Francis to appoint a new head at the Secretariat of the Economy to replace Cardinal Pell, whose 5 year term would in any case end in 2019” said Sigrid Grabmeier, Chair of We Are Church International. “The new head should be a layperson with experience in change management in complex organizations. This is essential in giving the people of the Church a sense that the Vatican understands the importance of being open about its finances. It will increase the sense of trust donors have in the Vatican.”

Contact: Marianne Duddy-Burke, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. +1 617-669-7810

 ###

We Are Church International (IMWAC) founded in Rome in 1996, is a global coalition of national church reform groups. It is committed to the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church based on the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.

The so-called “Filial Correction on the Propagation of Heresies” directed towards Pope Francis and signed by 62 individuals represents the desperate complaints of a tiny group of extremist conservatives, according to We Are Church International, a coalition of 21 Catholic Church reform organizations from around the globe.

“We Are Church International has long supported Pope Francis’ efforts to emphasize our Church’s mission of caring for those who are hurting,” said Sigrid Grabmeier, of Germany, Chair of We Are Church International. “These 62 self-identified ‘scholars’ are far out of the mainstream of the Church. They seem to want to take our Church back to some ideal time when everyone lived by their rules. The reality is that time never existed!”

Grabmeier continued, “These people have been harassing Pope Francis for years, and seem to be very frustrated that he has not responded to their attacks. Instead, he has turned the other cheek, and continued to focus on listening to the needs of the people, and trying to reform a very broken governance system in the Church. We believe these are the correct priorities.”

We Are Church International is rooted in a commitment to a Catholic Church that evolves to ensure the Gospel can be made accessible to peoples of all times and cultures. “A Church that is inflexible and refuses to change will wither and die,” said Grabmeier. “A Church that excludes and condemns is the antithesis of Jesus Christ.”

We Are Church International and its member organizations expressed their ongoing commitment to further the development of new structures and governance methods in the Catholic Church, so that more of the Baptized can shape Church policy and dogma. “It is not only the Bishops, the Cardinals and the Pope who hold truth,” said Grabmeier. “All of the people of the Church have important and vital experience of the Divine, and that is what should shape our teachings. We the people are the ones who know the realities of marriage and divorce, of yearning to be a full member of our faith community without condemnation, of what the struggle to interpret Church teaching in the reality of life feels like. Those who signed this terrible document do not seem to know, or perhaps they do not care. This document is bad theology, it is harmful to our Church, and it is harmful to the people of God.”

Contact: Marianne Duddy-Burke, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +1 617 669 7810

###

We Are Church International (IMWAC) founded in Rome in 1996, is a global coalition of national church reform groups. It is committed to the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church based on the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.

COMUNICADO DE PRENSA, 2 de julio de 2017

Somos Iglesia Internacional celebra el nombramiento del Arzobispo  Luis Ladaria como nuevo Prefecto de la Congregación para la Doctrina de la Fe, con la esperanza de que introducirá transparencia, justicia y misericordia en la CDF. La decisión de un cambio al más alto nivel de la CDF puede verse también como un avance en la reforma de la Curia. Sin embargo, Somos Iglesia Internacional afirma: “La Curia vaticana dedica demasiada energía a proteger y preservar el poder institucional. Esto solamente cambiará cuando haya una incorporación plena de los laicos, especialmente, de las mujeres, en la Iglesia y su misión. Se necesita urgentemente un cambio sustantivo en nuestra Iglesia.” Somos Iglesia Internacional pide al nuevo prefecto que levante las sanciones existentes contra teólogos/as como signo de una nueva era de justicia en la Iglesia, y que abra y apoye el intercambio vivo de posturas teológicas sin la prohibición del pensamiento.

Somos Iglesia Internacional ya pidió el relevo del Cardenal Müller como Prefecto de la CDF el 6 de marzo de 2017. El Cardenal Müller ha apoyado a la curia conservadora que está luchando para retener el poder y el control y está bloqueando las reformas del Papa Francisco para hacer que la Iglesia sea más misericordiosa, a imagen de Cristo.

El Cardenal Müller

            .- rehusó la petición de la Comisión Pontificia de Abusos para que todas las cartas de las víctimas tuvieran respuesta.

            .- rechazó que se instaurase un tribunal para investigar y censurar a obispos que hayan encubierto abusos.

            .- rehusó cambiar los procesos utilizados para investigar a sacerdotes y religiosos, que son injustos y que incumplen la justicia natural.

            .- rechazó apoyar los cambios para que las personas divorciadas que han vuelto a casarse puedan recibir la comunión sobre la base de la Exhortación Amoris Laetitia del Papa Francisco.

Sigrid Grabmeier, coordinadora general de Somos Iglesia Internacional, dice: “Es lógico que el Papa Francisco no haya prolongado el mandato de cinco años del Cardenal Gerhard Müller. Repetidamente, el Cardenal Müller se ha situado a sí mismo como un profesor para el Papa a través de sus enseñanzas e interpretaciones del papado, que pueden leerse en su libro reciente “El Papa”. Un cambio en la CDF también representa una oportunidad valiosa de reorientación de la importante tarea del procesamiento de la violencia sexual de clérigos”.

Contacto: Sigrid Grabmeier, Somos Iglesia Internacional, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Somos Iglesia Internacional se fundó en Roma en 1996 y es una coalición global de grupos católicos de reforma de distintos países. Está comprometida en la renovación de la Iglesia Católica Romana basada en el Concilio Vaticano II (1962-1965) y en el espíritu teológico desarrollado a partir de él.

http://www.we-are-church.org

PRESS RELEASE 2 July 2017

[ Spanish ]

We Are Church International welcome the appointment of Archbishop Luis Ladaria SJ as the new Head of the CDF hoping he will introduce transparency, justice and compassion in the CDF. The decision on a change at the top of the CDF is also seen as progress in reform of the curia. Nevertheless We Are Church International states: “The Vatican curia devotes too much energy to protect and preserve institutional power. This will only change when there is a full blossoming of laypeople and especially women’s involvement in the church and its mission. Substantive change in our Church is urgently needed.” We are Church international calls on the new prefect to rescind all sanctions against theologians as a sign of a new era of justice in the Church and to open and support the vivid exchange on theological positions without ban of thinking.

We Are Church International called for the replacement of Cardinal Müller as the Head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on 6 March 2017. Cardinal Müller supported the conservative curia who are fighting to retain power and control and are blocking reforms by Pope Francis to make our church more compassionate in the image of Christ.

Cardinal Müller –

• Refused the request from the Pontifical Abuse Commission that all letters from survivors should receive a reply
• Refused to allow a tribunal to be set up to investigate and censure bishops regarding covering up sexual abuse
• Refused to change the processes it uses for investigating priests & religious which are unjust and in breach of natural justice
• Refused to support the changes for divorced and remarried receiving communion based on Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia

Sigrid Grabmeier, Chair of We Are Church International, said, “It is logical for Pope Francis not to extend the five-year term of office of Cardinal Gerhard Müller. Cardinal Müller has repeatedly set himself up as a teacher of the Pope through his teachings and interpretations of the Papacy, most recently in his book ‘The Pope’. A change in the CDF also represents a valuable opportunity for reorientation for the important task of the prosecution of sexual violence by priests."

###

Contact: Sigrid Grabmeier, We Are Church International, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.;

Tel +49 991 - 2979585   Cell/Mobile +49 170 - 8626290  

We Are Church International, founded in Rome in 1996, is a global coalition of national church reform groups. It is committed to the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church based on the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.

PRESS RELEASE  1 July 2017

Can the Vatican be reformed?

After the Vatican’s first ever Auditor General, Libero Milone, has resigned suddenly, We Are Church International asks if the Vatican can at all be reformed in a slow step-by-step way. The former Head of Deloitte in Italy was just 2 years into his 5 year term to audit the Vatican’s finances. No reason was given for his sudden departure. The search for his replacement has just begun. It appears that the curia in the Vatican have managed to dump any financial reforms:

• While more than 40 cases of alleged impropriety have been flagged by the Vatican’s Financial Information Authority for investigation, not a single prosecution has been pushed through by the Vatican’s justice system
• Only 20% of Peter’s Pence collected around the world goes to help the poor - the rest is used to fund the Vatican curia.

In addition, Papal adviser Cardinal George Pell has been forced to take an immediate leave of absence from his Vatican duties to defend against charges of sexual abuse. This is happening just weeks after a key member of the Commission charged with overseeing reform in this area resigned in frustration with the barriers the Commission faced.

It appears that much more drastic action is required. We Are Church International  call on Pope Francis to set up an Ecumenical Council for a major reform of church structures to introduce synodal structures with the full involvement of the people of God. This Ecumenical Council could be held in Brazil – but certainly not in the Vatican.

Sigrid Grabmeier, Chair of We Are Church International, said, “The Vatican curia devotes to much energy to protect and preserve institutional power. This will only change when there is a full blossoming of laypeople and especially women’s involvement in the church and its mission. Substantive change in our Church is urgently needed.”

###

Contact: Sigrid Grabmeier, We Are Church International, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tel +49 991 - 2979585   Cell/Mobile +49 170 - 8626290  

We Are Church International, founded in Rome in 1996, is a global coalition of national church reform groups. It is committed to the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church based on the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it.