"The Holy See is not a large economic entity. We had revenues of 307 million euros, we spent 318 million euros. Our deficit is 11 million. We have a net worth of 1,402 million euros."
Thus the Vatican prefect for the Economy, the Jesuit father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, presenting the 2019 budget of the Roman Curia in the media of the Oltretevere.
The 2019 deficit is however much lower than that of 2018, equal to 75 million.
"The Curia is not the whole Vatican - he explains -.
By adding the budget of the Governorate, of the Obolo, of the IOR, of the Pension Fund and of the Foundations that help the mission of the Holy See, a net worth of about 4,000 million euros is obtained. If we were to consolidate everything, there would be no deficit in 2019, nor was there in 2016, the last year in which all these accounts were consolidated.
"" It is possible that, in some cases, the Holy See was, beyond that badly advised, even scammed ", said Guerrero, commenting on the scandals of these days." I think we are learning from past mistakes or imprudences - he observes -.
Now it is a question of accelerating, at the decisive and insistent impulse of the Pope, the process of knowledge, internal and external transparency, control and collaboration between the various departments ".