Leo XIV suppresses Vatican donations commission
The commission was created earlier this year by Pope Francis.
Pope Leo XIV has suppressed a Vatican donations commission less than 10 months after it was established by his predecessor Pope Francis.
The Vatican released Dec. 4 a chirograph, signed Sept. 29 by Pope Leo XIV, suppressing the Commissio de donationibus pro Sancta Sede, or Commission of Donations for the Holy See, which sought to raise much-needed funds for the Vatican.
Pope Francis had signed a document establishing the commission Feb. 11, three days before he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and 69 days before his death at the age of 88.
The new chirograph suppressing the commission said that the move came as a recommendation of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy, which “devoted particular attention to studying this issue, reexamining it and consulting with experts in the field.”
The chirograph also announced the creation of a working group “to formulate proposals regarding the general issue of fundraising for the Holy See, along with the definition of an appropriate structure.”
Members of the working group will be proposed to Leo XIV by the Vatican’s Council for the Economy, via the Secretariat of State.
The first five members named under Pope Francis to the now-dissolved commission were Italian, including the body’s president, Msgr. Roberto Campisi, the Vatican Secretariat of State’s assessor for general affairs.
In addition to abolishing the commission, the new chirograph revoked its statutes, which Pope Francis had approved on an experimental basis for three years, and repealed “any acts adopted and regulations prepared by the Commission to date.” Members of the commission also ceased to hold office.
Campisi no longer serves as the assessor for general affairs because Pope Leo appointed him Sept. 27 as the Holy See’s permanent observer to UNESCO, the Paris-based UN culture body.
Observers had noted that the move was an unusually low-level appointment for an assessor for general affairs. All of Campisi’s predecessors for the past 55 years were ordained bishops and appointed as nuncios immediately after leaving the post.
The donations commission’s assets will be transferred to the Holy See. The body’s liquidation will be overseen by Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, known by its Italian acronym APSA, which functions as the Vatican’s sovereign wealth manager and government reserve bank.
The suppression of the donations commission is the latest in a series of reversals of decisions taken by Pope Francis.
The Vatican announced Oct. 6 that Pope Leo had revoked a 2022 rescript issued by Pope Francis that required all curial assets, accounts, and investments to be placed under APSA, which in turn was required to conduct its business through the Institute for Works of Religion, the Vatican’s sole for-profit commercial financial institution.
The Vatican disclosed Nov. 26 that Pope Leo had also overturned his predecessor’s October 2024 decision to abolish the central sector of the Diocese of Rome.
When Pope Francis established the donations commission in February, he said he had decided to create the new body “to support the service of the Apostolic See and in view of the current economic situation.” He noted that it would be a permanent institution “dedicated to the collection of donations and offerings for the Apostolic See.”
He said its “specific task” would be to “encourage donations with special campaigns among the faithful, bishops’ conferences, and other potential benefactors, emphasizing their importance for the mission and for the charitable works of the Apostolic See.”
He added that the commission would also raise funds from donors “for specific projects presented by the institutions of the Roman Curia and the Governorate of Vatican City State, without prejudice to the autonomy and competencies of each institution.”
Besides Msgr. Campisi, the other four original members of the commission were Archbishop Flavio Pace, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, secretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Sr. Silvana Piro, undersecretary of APSA; and the lawyer Giuseppe Puglisi-Alibrandi, one of two secretaries-general of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
Since his election in May, Pope Leo XIV has struck a more positive note about Vatican finances than his predecessor.
A Vatican financial statement released Nov. 26 reported a dramatic rise in income and the near halving of the Vatican’s structural budget deficit.
But the Vatican association of lay employees said that many of its members “received the news with skepticism.” The association argued that the spike in income was the result of non-recurring donations and one-time realization of investment gains, rather than sustainable structural stability.
May I suggest selling expensive bottles of bourbon? Or take a cue from the Byzantine parishes and sell pierogies? Or (from my high school band days) sell holiday greens and citrus? I humbly submit myself for membership on the fundraising commission.
One less avenue of complications and fires to put out. He is polishing parts of what Francis left behind. He is also trusting his advisors. That is smart.