Pope Francis commissions urgent review of Vatican pension fund

Pope Francis has appointed American Cardinal Kevin Farrell to oversee the “new and inevitable” reform of the Vatican pension system, which faces a “serious potential imbalance” that means changes can no longer be postponed.

In a Nov. 21 letter to cardinals, dicastery prefects and administrators of the Roman Curia, the Pope underscored the seriousness of the unsustainability of the Vatican pension fund and noted that the solution will require difficult decisions, “special sensitivity, generosity and willingness to sacrifice on the part of everyone.”

To address the challenges, the Pontiff said he had taken an “essential step” by naming Cardinal Farrell “sole administrator” of the fund.

Cardinal Farrell, 77, is prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, as well as camerlegno of the Holy Roman Church and president of the Committee on Reserved Matters.

The Irish-born cardinal, who was Bishop of Dallas, Texas (United States) for nine years before his move to Rome, also chairs the Investment Committee from 2022.

In his duties on the Reserved Affairs Commission, Cardinal Farrell is responsible for authorizing the confidentiality of the economic actions of the Roman Curia, if necessary “for the greater good of the Church,” according to the apostolic constitution. Preach the Gospel.

Cardinal Farrell also oversees the Roman Curia’s investments, ensuring they are in line with the social doctrine of the Church, a role he was appointed to after the Holy See came under scrutiny by certain investmentsincluding the purchase of a luxury building in London, which lost the Vatican hundreds of thousands of euros and ended in a criminal trial.

Pope Francis said in his Nov. 21 letter that the pension fund is one of the centerpieces of the Vatican’s financial reform, a key part of the Pope’s project since his election in 2013.

“Different studies have been carried out from which it has been derived that the current management of pensions, taking into account the available assets, generates a significant deficit,” the Pontiff wrote this Thursday.

“Unfortunately, the figure that now emerges, at the conclusion of the latest in-depth analyzes by independent experts, indicates a serious prospective imbalance in the fund, the size of which tends to expand over time in the absence of intervention,” he continued.

He added that “in concrete terms,” the Vatican cannot “guarantee in the medium term the fulfillment of the pension obligation for future generations.”

While the Pope thanked those who have tried to resolve the pension fund’s problems so far, he said it is imperative that the Vatican move to a new phase “with promptness and unity of vision so that the necessary actions are quickly implemented,” and He asked for everyone’s support, cooperation and prayers.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.