Following the various financial scandals that had plagued the Vatican under his predecessors, Pope Leo XIV has made a few changes to the Council for the Economy — but will it be enough to bring about financial reform?
Among the new appointments to the Council for the Economy are two young women in their 30s with impressive résumés: Gisela Bergmann, princess of Liechtenstein, and Elena Principato-Wettstein. Their appointments have sparked considerable curiosity, as happened in 2021, when Pope Francis appointed a solid majority of women to the Vatican’s Finance Ministry.
Then, as now, there’s much to say about the composition of the Vatican’s economic body.
The Council for the Economy is composed of eight cardinals and seven lay members. It somewhat resembles the “Council of Fifteen” — the “Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Economic and Organizational Questions of the Holy See” — which ceased to exist when Francis established the Council of Cardinals and later reformed the Vatican economic department and established the Council for the Economy.
The Council for the Economy also has assumed some functions once under the purview of the Prefecture for Economic Affairs, which became a sort of modern “Ministry of Finance” under Benedict XVI.
Without delving too deeply into how the Vatican economy was reshaped under Pope Francis, there are two things worth noting.
First, the Holy See’s economic operations took on a more “technocratic” approach under Francis, relying more on the professionalism and financial capacity of its executives outside the Vatican than on internal expertise.
Second, that change has in some ways led to the loss — at least the weakening — of the Holy See’s sense of diplomatic sovereignty, for if the Holy See’s economy is treated like a company, then the very concept of statehood is undermined.
This approach has also reverberated in the Vatican’s major economic reform and has had consequences that are difficult to control (namely, the Becciu trial). A rebalancing is now needed, but that still appears to be a long way off.
It’s here that Leo XIV seems to be stalling.
Out of the gate, Leo’s priority was to rein in some significant budget challenges. If we look at the latest annual reports of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, and Peter’s Pence, we see efforts were made to overcome the Vatican’s bleak financial forecasts and revitalize its economic sector, including some painful decisions that have relieved the Holy See of some of its burden.
In short, the Holy See needed to consolidate its financial operations before undertaking a real generational change. However, this latter step has been institutionally postponed.
The Council for the Economy proves this.
Leo has confirmed Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the archbishop of Munich and Friesing, as the head of the council, for a third five-year term. This is highly unusual because, according to the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium commissioned by Pope Francis, top positions cannot be renewed more than once. Nevertheless, Leo XIV prefers to keep Cardinal Marx in his post.
Several cardinals who had been serving as members of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy will be stepping down: Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, archbishop emeritus of Durban, South Africa, who is over 80 years old; Anders Arborelius, the bishop of Stockholm, who will soon retire; Italian Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, who is also president of the IOR (colloquially known as the Vatican Bank) and may have some “incompatibility” in the two roles, if only because the IOR is another financial institution; and Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő, whose health does not allow him to assume more responsibilities.
Those entering the Council for the Economy, however, are cardinals born and raised under the aegis of Pope Francis: Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, archbishop of Kraków, Poland; Cardinal Ladislav Nemet, archbishop of Belgrade, Serbia; Cardinal Jean-Paul Vesco, archbishop of Algiers, Algeria; and Cardinal Roberto Repole, archbishop of Turin and Bishop of Susa, Italy.
None of these men represent a departure from the previous pontificate and its choices, nor can any of them be expected to direct the Vatican economy toward reform (or even very far in the way of adjustment from the trajectory under Pope Francis).
Canadian Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, American Cardinal Joseph Tobin, and Brazilian Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer remain council members. When Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Scherer, many were surprised by the addition of a member of the “old guard” — going back to John Paul II — to the council. Leo XIV reaffirmed this appointment.
Among the lay members, a noteworthy appointment is Paolo Nusiner, currently director general of the Directorate for General Affairs of the Dicastery for Communication. Membership on the council and membership as a dicastery official are not in themselves incompatible, but the appointment suggests the Dicastery for Communication will undergo a major reshuffle once Montse Alvarado, currently president and chief operating officer of EWTN News, moves into the prefect’s office.
As far as lay members go, Leo XIV shows a new balance of power and geographical representation.
The two Spanish members, Maria Concepción Osácar Garaicoechea and Eva Castillo Sanz, will be leaving the Council for the Economy, as will Ruth Mary Kelly from the United Kingdom and Marija Kolak from Germany. A Frenchman, Denis Duverne, and two Italians — Nusiner and Principato-Wettstein — will join, demonstrating that the Pope is seeking a new balance within the council.
What do these nominations essentially say?
First, Leo XIV is relying on Pope Francis’ “old guard” for the time being. He has no ideological prejudice against them, nor against their work, even when it has been challenged. The Pope likely doesn’t yet have all the dossiers in hand and is therefore waiting before making a final decision.
Second, on the financial front, the coalition that had tightened around Francis has continued to operate even under Leo XIV. Suffice it to say that, after Jean-Baptiste de Franssu’s departure as president of the IOR, François Pauly, a member of the Board of Superintendence, was chosen as president, fully adhering to de Franssu’s stance. During de Franssu’s 12 years as president, the IOR experienced mixed financial results, including in its international ratings. The Council of Europe’s Moneyval reports, for instance, had lights and shadows. However, the IOR has built a strong narrative that has continued under the new presidency, blaming all its failures on the previous administration.
Is this, however, really a path that will bear fruit?
Third, Leo XIV appears to have priorities other than financial restructuring. Indeed, even the Supervisory and Financial Information Authority has been effectively dismantled, losing its original function and becoming a mere office of the Curia, all with the Pope’s endorsement.
Ultimately, those who expected swift institutional strengthening of the Holy See have been disappointed. Leo XIV is correcting some of Pope Francis’ excesses, and the latest of these adjustments concerns the fundamental law of Vatican City State, where the reference to the munus Petrinum — the Petrine ministry — legitimizing the pope’s power as head of the small city-state has been eliminated. But at the same time, he has not yet made any major institutional decisions, and in some situations, he is simply maintaining continuity, without making hard choices.
In other topics, he has begun a small revolution, but it remains to be seen what his priorities truly are.
Governance is currently a hot topic regarding Leo XIV’s pontificate. Will Leo deviate from the path charted by Francis’ pontificate, or will he continue along the path of his predecessor, with all its consequences?
The reshuffle of the Council for the Economy suggests that the Pope will maintain his position for now. And it ultimately signals that this decision could also apply to other areas. Indeed, this has already happened, considering the appointment of the prefect and pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development — Sister Alessandra Smerilli, former secretary, and Cardinal Fabio Baggio, former undersecretary.
No, Leo XIV is not a Francis II, and yet he continues to rely on Francis’ men. He will not be able to ignore the reforms of his predecessor forever, but whether he will be able to address them with his predecessor’s men in place is a legitimate question.
More and more, it is becoming a question whether — and if so, when — he intends to.
