More scandals at the Vatican

The Roman Catholic Church is the world's oldest continuous political institution. It has often been surrounded by scandals and allegations.

The Italian media are now following a tangled controversy which also includes Australia's Cardinal George Pell. Pell is the most senior Catholic cleric charged with child sex offences. He has since been cleared and has returned to Rome.

The allegations in recent days do not involve child sex allegations but are about the more traditional financial scandals. Pell in this context is seen as more of a hero being treated badly by the Vatican's "deep state" covering up its financial misdeeds.

Italian media are currently reporting on Cardinal Giovanni Becciu's alleged financial misdeeds. Becciu was a rival to Pell, who apparently was investigating Vatican financial misdeeds before being summoned back to Melbourne in 2017 for the alleged sex offences hearings. With the legal proceedings out of the way, Pell is now back in Rome.

The Italian media are fascinated by alleged financial misdeeds committed by Becciu. Over a millennium ago in AD1031, Anglo-Saxon England began collecting money for the Pope's charitable projects: the Peter's Pence fund. It is alleged that in recent years, the fund has been used to help finance the Vatican's operating expenses (balancing the budget) rather than helping the needy.

Cardinal Becciu is alleged to have provided some funds to his three brothers and to have made unwise investments. Becciu lost money investing in luxury property in Chelsea, London (though property consultants did very well from the dud investment). He also helped finance the Elton John "Rocket Man" bio-pic movie which celebrated values that are contrary to traditional Catholic teaching.

Investigations in the last few days have now allegedly shown that a sum of 700,000 Euros (over A$1 million) went from the Vatican to Australia. Who received it? Pell's defence team (unlikely to have received any help from Becciu) said they didn't get it. The victim's solicitor has also denied receiving the money. Where did the money go? Did it go to some of the witnesses? For what purpose?

When Francis became Pope in 2013 he was well aware of various allegations concerning the Vatican's finances and the high living of some people. He has tried to set an example of humble living but most Vatican officials continue to live well in their princely mansions.

His predecessor Benedict began the work of sorting out the Vatican's finances. But he mysteriously suddenly quit office before that work (and other investigations) could be completed.

Pell was appointed to clean up the Vatican's finances. He soon ran up against Vatican officials – the "deep state" - who were allegedly mishandling funds, including Peter's Pence.

Cardinal Becciu was effectively sacked by the Pope last month. Becciu gets to keep his red hat and title but has no role now in administration. By retaining his cardinal status (albeit in reduced status) he cannot be called before an Italian criminal court. The investigations into his use of the money continues.

The Vatican has what police forces call "form". In other words the current allegations are similar to previous allegations.

In June 1982 Roberto Calvi – "God's banker" – was found hanging under Blackfriars Bridge in the City of London. He had fled Italy where his Banco Ambrosiano was collapsing. The Vatican had been an important client of the bank. A number of leading Italians were later imprisoned for that financial scandal.

I was in London at the time of Calvi's death and so visited the crime scene. Calvi was afraid of heights and so I could not see how he could have climbed under the bridge to hang himself. He was staying at a hotel in West London; he could more easily have jumped from his window or jumped in front of a train.

On the other hand, if he had been murdered it would have been difficult for the murderers to get the body suspended from under the bridge. The bridge is in a busy part of London and murderers carrying a body along the street or on a Thames boat could have been spotted by passers by.

There have been various investigations and trials. But the 1982 death remains unsolved.

In March 1986 another banker with Vatican (and Mafia) connections also died. Michele Sindona ran the failed Franklin National Bank, which collapsed in obscure circumstances. He was poisoned by cyanide while serving a life sentence in an Italian prison.

Pell was therefore getting into dangerous territory by investigating the current range of financial allegations.

To conclude, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus (1922-2006) was president of the Vatican Bank 1971-89. His name often appeared in the context of discussions about Calvi and Sindona. But he was never actually charged with any crime (and he enjoyed international diplomatic immunity from any prosecution and so spent the rest of his life in quiet anonymity in an Arizona golfing resort).

Marcinkus warned that "You can't run the Church on Hail Marys". He later said he was misquoted. But it is a realistic statement.

Vatican City – the Holy See – is an independent sovereign entity (a bit like say Australia or New Zealand in international law terms). It has diplomatic relations with 183 countries. The Vatican gets mentioned in these financial scandals partly because it has its own national financial arrangements, and so one can walk across the street in effect from Italy into a foreign territory – the Holy See – to move money across national borders. A lot of dodgy money has moved across the street. The Vatican is a sunny place for some shady people.

There was a time when popes had their own armies and navies. The Holy See has shrunk in territorial control and resident population (now about 825 people).

But it has increased in international reach as the number of Catholics worldwide continues to grow. (Do not judge the state of any religion by what you see in Australia - Australia and other western countries are being overshadowed by the populations of Asia, Africa and Latin America).

Running such an enterprise costs money. The Vatican needs to be more transparent on how the money is raised and spent.