2023-08-12 11:15:17
The 2022 budget of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See was made public this Friday, August 11. The organization has contributed to cover the needs of the Roman Curia for more than 32 million euros. Bishop Galantino, its president, welcomes the transparency sought.
Nicola Gori – Vatican City
In 2022, the Patrimony Administration of the Apostolic See (APSA) spent 32.27 million euros to cover the needs of the Roman Curia. This is the most significant figure that emerges from the publication, Thursday, August 10, of the Vatican body’s balance sheet for the 2022 financial year. The economic result of the APSA was in balance, therefore the contribution paid to the Roman Curia – according to the arrangements shared with the Secretariat for the Economy – equal to the profit made.
APSA President, Archbishop Nunzio Galantino, in a letter accompanying the report, believes that these figures testify to “an administration which, like everyone else, has had to and continues to face the effects of the pandemic and the ‘uncertainty arising from ongoing conflicts’. However, these are pages that “feed on an ambition: to clarify an area, that of administration and management, which feeds on skills, loyalty and transparency; but also of confidence, as the great economist Antonio Genovesi affirmed, already in the 18th century”.
Another element that emerges from the reading of the financial statements is the amount paid by APSA in the direct and indirect form of taxes deriving from the management and ownership of properties in Italy.
In this regard, Bishop Galantino explains that “the transparency of the figures, the results obtained and the procedures defined is one of the tools at our disposal to eliminate, at least among those who are free from preconceived ideas, the unfounded suspicions concerning the entity of the patrimony of the Church, its administration or the fulfillment of the duties of justice, such as the payment of taxes due and other taxes”.
A clarified action
On the other hand, observes the Archbishop, “a little more than a year after the publication of the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, the nature and the tasks assigned by Pope Francis to APSA are increasingly clear”. But “the share of responsibility incumbent on him is also obvious”. Indeed, through “understandable, effective and transparent procedures, the APSA is called to contribute to the evangelizing mission of the Church”. In this sense, underlines the President, “we are now all convinced, in this regard, that the reputation of the Church in the management of what is entrusted to her by the generosity of the faithful is a prerequisite for the credibility of her proclamation “. This is therefore “one of the reasons which justify the publication, for the third consecutive year, of the budget”.
“With the collaboration and professionalism of the entire APSA community, underlines Bishop Galantino, the path continues for the achievement of the objectives set out in the three-year development plan, which is continuously updated and submitted to the supervisory bodies of the Holy See. The purpose of all this is to financially support the mission of the Pope and of the structures which, with him, share the task of evangelization”, he recalls.
It is precisely from this perspective of transparency that the report offers an overview of the results obtained and the economic difficulties encountered. In particular, from an economic point of view, the 2022 financial year, following the Covid-19 pandemic period, was also characterized by the “negative financial and economic consequences” arising from the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, as already “one could have guessed from the first months, there were phenomena of inflationary pressure and a significant rise in energy costs which had negative repercussions on the management results of the various areas of ‘APSA activity’.
Furthermore, the APSA is called upon to administer the movable and immovable property of the Holy See according to certain purposes. In the first place, the objective is not profit, but the conservation and consolidation of the inheritance received in dowry through the use of what Pope Francis has defined as “widow’s investments”. A popular expression to show that the APSA does not wish to pursue speculative goals but to make investments with a “low rate and a proven social impact”.
Management of securities and financial investments
In terms of asset management, APSA’s investment policy, according to equally prudent and never speculative criteria, continued to be characterized “by a fair balance between risk and medium-long term return, favoring an allocation of ‘prudent assets’.
We also observe “a reduced average maturity of the bond segment of around 4/5 years and a high level of precautionary liquidity”, both to deal with the future and uncertain financial commitments of the Holy See and “to changes in governance , also linked to the new Apostolic Constitution”.
The result of securities management was -6.7 million euros, compared to the positive result achieved in 2021 of 19.85. This resulted in a difference of -26.55 million euros compared to 2021. Just as the management costs went from 10 to 13 million euros. Given high market valuations, fragile economic growth, a sharp drop in corporate earnings and an inflationary spiral, the APSA preferred to “maintain portfolio positioning substantially unchanged from 2021, while by continuing to adopt a constant and prudent policy of risk control”. Investments in alternative assets remained on hold as they could impact liquidity management.
The financial investments managed by APSA amount to approximately 1.777 million euros as of December 31, 2022, and include both the management of the property and the management of third parties (entities of the Holy See or related to it) . The APSA also manages other activities, which include the costs related to the functioning of the whole structure, including the Pilgrimage to the See of Peterwhich will be particularly called upon to accompany pilgrims during the Jubilee Year 2025.
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