The Vatican on Wednesday announced that Pope Francis has created a fundraising commission to solicit donations from Catholics and bishops’ conferences as the Vatican City State and the Roman Curia continue to face budgetary and funding challenges.
The “Commissio de Donationibus pro Sancta Sede,” Latin for “Commission on Donations for the Holy See,” has six members, “whose specific task will be to encourage donations” and find benefactors for special projects within the Vatican, according to a papal decree signed Feb. 11.
Pope Francis has been making cost-cutting decisions at the Vatican in recent years as he continues attempts to reverse the institution’s struggling financial situation, including a pension fund facing a “serious prospective imbalance.”
The donation commission’s statutes, signed by Pope Francis, say the team will report directly to the pope with twice-yearly updates on their work, to be carried out with the help of an initial endowment of 300,000 euros (about $315,000).
In its fundraising campaigns, the commission should, according to the norms, emphasize the importance of donations for “the Holy Father’s mission and charitable works” and ensure the will of the donor is respected when it comes to the destination of money for specific projects.
The first president of the commission is Father Roberto Campisi, assessor in the general affairs section of the Secretariat of State.
Members include Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; and Sister Silvana Piro, FMGB, undersecretary of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), which oversees the Vatican’s real estate holdings and other sovereign assets.
The last appointee is Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, an Italian lawyer who on Tuesday was promoted from vice secretary to secretary of the Vatican City State Governorate.
The president and members of the commission are appointed for five-year terms.
This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.
