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Month: October 2020

Cardinal Pell accuser denies bribe as Vatican intrigue grows

Posted by | Oct 5, 2020 | , , , , , , , , , , |

An Australian man who accused Cardinal George Pell of sexually abusing him denied Monday he was bribed for his testimony, shooting down the latest conspiracy theory to roil the Vatican amid a corruption investigation into its shady finances.

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Analysis: Cardinal Becciu is accused of setting up Pell. But facts are few

Posted by | Oct 5, 2020 | , |

Denver Newsroom, Oct 5, 2020 / 12:29 pm (CNA).-  

When an allegation against a high-ranking churchman makes its way from Vatican-watchers to Italian newspapers to American headlines in just a matter of days, it’s a safe bet the story will have something to do with sex.

And if it’s an allegation that pertains to both sex and money, and includes the possibility of a criminal conspiracy pitting cardinal against cardinal, well, you’ve got a recipe for a best-selling potboiler, to say nothing of a story sure to circle the globe fast, and attract a lot of attention.

So it’s no surprise to see the attention paid to a set of allegations and theories that stemmed from Italian newspaper reports last week: That Cardinal Angelo Becciu sent 700,000 euros of Vatican funds to Australia during Cardinal George Pell’s sexual abuse trial, and that Becciu might have sent the money as a payment for Pell’s accusers.

But it should be noted that while the story is now the topic of discussion among Catholics everywhere, the allegations are heavy on innuendo and light, to say the least, on facts. At least so far.

The story began with highly speculative media reports suggesting that Becciu transferred funds to Australia, and suggesting that the information may have come from Becciu’s longtime aide, Msgr. Alberto Perlasca, who is said to be cooperating with investigators in a multi-year investigation of numerous charges of financial misconduct and corruption surrounding the Vatican’s Secretariat of State, at which Becciu worked for years.

From there, the story picked up steam enough to include the charge that the money was transferred as a payoff from Becciu to those accusing Pell of sexually abusing them. That story has now garnered so much attention that Pope Francis reportedly met this morning with Australia’s apostolic nuncio, reportedly to ask him about any transfers of Vatican funds to the Land Down Under.

Again, it must be noted that there are no documents, no direct quotes, no proofs or confirmations of any aspects of the story. There are, therefore, a few possibilities:

It is possible that the Italian newspapers claiming to have spoken with first-hand sources have been misled, by someone with an agenda, or someone exaggerating rumors to gain stature or establish a narrative. This should not be considered outside the realm of possibility by anyone familiar with some outlets in the Italian press.

It is possible that Msgr. Perlasca is actually the source of the allegations, and he is not telling the truth – although, since a bank transfer from the Vatican to Australia could be easily proven, lying about one seems inadvisable, and therefore unlikely.

It is possible a transfer occurred to some Catholic entity in Australia, but for an innocuous purpose that has been mischaracterized. If that is true, it is likely easily discovered and easily demonstrated.

Or, it is possible that the substance of the allegation is true. The idea that a cardinal would act so nefariously is unsettling to many, and should not be proffered lightly. But it is among the possibilities. If it is true, it might come out in any future trial involving Becciu, or, given the nature of the Vatican, it might never come into the light at all.

CNA has uncovered a set of Vatican financial scandals with connections to Becciu for several years, and endeavored to do so with painstaking attention to available documentary proof. Within that coverage has been reporting about conflict between Becciu and Pell. And there have long been rumors and speculation among supporters of Pell that the cardinal was set up in Australia because of his involvement in Vatican affairs.

The reports emerging this weekend have attracted interest in part because they seem to confirm that speculation, and because Becciu’s role in financial scandals is now sufficiently enough established that he has been severely censured by Pope Francis. But the apparent confirmation of rumors and speculation does not by itself lend credibility to the allegations.

Catholics will be watching to see whether proofs emerge to support the spectacular charge that Becciu set Pell up for a prison term. While some commentators will be quick to regard the allegations as fact, prudent Catholics — and wise news consumers — will reserve judgment until the facts emerge.

With an investigation into Becciu getting close to its conclusion, they may not have long to wait.

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Priest in NJ, former prep school chaplain, charged with endangering students

Posted by | Oct 5, 2020 | , |

CNA Staff, Oct 5, 2020 / 12:01 pm (CNA).- Fr. Salvatore DiStefano, a former boys’ prep school chaplain in New Jersey, was charged Thursday with use of children to commit a crime, and child endangerment.

“I want to recognize Attorney General Grewal’s Clergy Abuse Task Force and our Special Victims Unit for exhaustively and professionally investigating this case. The conduct unearthed by our investigative team represents an egregious and total betrayal of trust by a person who was supposed to be helping young men, not hurting them; conduct that might have gone unchecked but for their efforts,” acting Union County prosecutor Lyndsay Ruotolo said Oct. 1.

Fr. DiStefano, 61, was chaplain of Oratory Preparatory School in Summit, N.J., 13 miles west of Newark, until he was suspended in January during the investigation. He had been chaplain at the school since at least 2012.

He was charged with five counts of second-degree use of a juvenile to commit a crime and six counts of third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

The prosecutor’s office said his behavior had threatened the welfare of six students at Oratory Prep.

Fr. DiStefano’s “conduct as the leader of an official school club of about 30 hand-picked Oratory Prep students, known as the ‘Knights of Malta,’” had been investigated by the Special Victims Unit, according to the prosecutor’s office statement.

“For instance, the investigation revealed that DiStefano would frequently attempt to speak with the students about sex and instructed a student to masturbate in order to relieve stress. He also allegedly made repeated attempts to entice a student to accompany him away from the school alone and took steps to conceal that activity, for instance telling the student to leave his cell phone at school so that his true location would be hidden from his parents when he met with him off-campus.”

The investigation also found that the priest texted and called the club members routinely, and at various times in late 2019 he would let them consume cannabis edibles in his office, and allegedly bought THC cartridges for them, as well as providing them money to do so.

Fr. DiStefano allegedly encouraged students to bully others, intending “to maintain his control over the group.”

“At one point, according to the investigation, DiStefano attempted to convince multiple students to harass and otherwise intimidate a former Knights of Malta member who had been dismissed from the club, ordering them to make the victim’s daily life so difficult that he would quit school.”

For example, he allegedly convinced one student to spread rumours about another on social media, and had them plan a rival party so that no one would attend one being hosted by the former Knights of Malta member.

Prosecutors said that “when students or others expressed concerns about his conduct to DiStefano, he also allegedly took steps to cover up his activities, such as telling one victim to delete all of the text messages between them from his phone.”

Both the Archdiocese of Newark and Oratory Prep cooperated with prosecutors in their investigation.

The investigation was part of the effort of the New Jersey Clergy Abuse Task Force, which was announced in September 2018 to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clerics in New Jersey.

The Union County prosecutor’s office said Fr. DiStefano is the fourth priest to have been charged in a criminal case filed by the task force.

The priest’s lawyer, Vincent J. Sanzone Jr., told The Star-Ledger that Fr. DiStefano is innocent of the charges, and noted, “he’s not charged with a sexual crime … it’s about students bullying each other, and it got out of control.”

When Fr. DiStefano was placed on leave amid the investigation in late Janury, NJ.com reported that a Newark archdiocese spokeswoman said that the archdiocese “takes very seriously any and all credible complaints of sexual misconduct or sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy, religious, lay staff and volunteers of the Archdiocese.”

According to NJ.com, Fr. DiStefano was an assistant principal in the New York City Public Schools and was a New York City police officer before being ordained a priest.

Prosecutors said the priest was recently residing at Our Lady of Peace parish in New Providence, which is adjacent to Summit.

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Enrico Crasso defends management of Vatican investments

Posted by | Oct 5, 2020 | , |

Rome Newsroom, Oct 5, 2020 / 10:30 am (CNA).- Enrico Crasso, a longtime investment manager for the Vatican, has defended his stewardship of Church funds controlled by the Secretariat of State, saying investement he made were “no secret.” 

Crasso, who worked with the Vatican starting in 1993, was named in reports last month alleging that Cardinal Angelo Becciu used millions of euros of Vatican charity funds in speculative and risky investments, including “loans” for projects owned and operated by Becciu’s brothers. 

In an Oct. 4 interview with Corriere della Sera, Crasso denied managing “confidential” accounts for Becciu’s family.

On Sept. 24, Becciu was asked by Pope Francis to resign from his Vatican job and from the rights of cardinals following the report. In a press conference, the cardinal distanced himself from Crasso, saying he did not follow his actions “step by step.”

According to Becciu, Crasso would inform him of what investments he was making, “but it’s not that he was telling me the ramifications of all these investments.”

Crasso appeared to corroborate Becciu, saying they met only 5-6 times since 2012. He claimed that Becciu also never applied “pressure” about what investments to make.

Crasso is the manager of the Centurion Global Fund, in which the Holy See is the principal investor. The fund is connected to several institutions linked to allegations and investigations of money laundering, a CNA investigation found.

The fund also registered a loss of some 4.6% in 2018, while at the same time incurring management fees of roughly 2 million euros, raising questions about the prudential use of Vatican resources.

According to Crasso, “the Secretariat [of State] has always earned from our management.” 

The Centurion Global Fund first made headlines in December 2019 for its use of Vatican assets under its management to invest in Hollywood films, real estate, and utilities, including investments in movies like “Men in Black International” and the Elton John biopic “Rocketman.”

Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra reported that Centurion had raised around 70 million euro in cash, and that the Holy See’s Secretariat of State was the source of at least two-thirds of the fund’s assets.

Crasso said Oct. 4 that after Il Corriere’s Dec. 2019 article, he was told “the Holy Father had given instructions to liquidate the fund. And now we are closing it.”

In conflict with Becciu’s claim that he didn’t know what Crasso was doing, Crasso said “Centurion was known in the Secretariat [of State]” and that Vatican officials “knew very well” which investments were being made. 

Asked how he made his decisions about how to invest Vatican money, Crasso said the secretariat pointed out some investments to him directly, such as shares in the English Eos fund, who were “friends of Monsignor Alberto Perlasca.”

Perlasca is Becciu’s former chief deputy at the Secretariat of State. In February, his home and office were raided by investigators over his participation in the Vatican’s investment of hundreds of millions of euros with the Italian financier Raffaele Mincione. 

Crasso indicated that on at least one occasion he informed Perlasca that a desired investment was too risky and advised making an investment of only six million euros instead of 30 million, which they did.

Vatican investments through Centurion have also been reported to include funds from the Peter’s Pence collection, intended to support charitable works and the ministry of the Holy See.

Crasso confirmed that “the funds of Peter’s Pence were managed by banks, including hedge funds. Everyone knew it,” he said. “Now, however, the Vatican’s auditor general argues that these funds were tied to charitable works. But they never told the banks!”

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