Vatican Had Millions ‘Tucked Away’

Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican’s economy minister, has disclosed that hundreds of millions of euros that did not show up on the country’s balance sheets were found “tucked away” in accounts of various Holy See departments. The news, which will be published Friday in Catholic Herald Magazine, means that the Vatican’s finances are on a firmer footing than was thought. While Pell did say there was no wrongdoing, he said it was the result of Vatican departments long having “an almost free hand” with their finances, and that the hiding of money was part of “long-established patterns” and that “it was impossible for anyone to know accurately what was going on overall.”