BY CAROL GLATZ CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The Vatican's financial watchdog agency has ex- panded its reach of cooperation, and it plans to continue to increase its staff to better fulfill its mandate. Charged with preventing and coun- tering suspected money laundering and the financing of terrorism, the Vatican Financial Intelligence Author- ity's work has significantly increased since it signed agreements regarding the supervision of nearly 100 nonprofit entities and public authorities of the Holy See and Vatican City State. With a new president, director and deputy director leading the authority, the watchdog agency was also going to establish a new statute and its "first internal regulation, which sets out de- tailed procedures in the furtherance of a healthy and transparent admin- istration," wrote Carmelo Barbagallo, president of the Financial Intelligence Authority, known by its Italian acro- nym as AIF. It released its annual re- port July 3. All the changes were part of helping the Holy See's "commitment to the fair- ness and transparency of its financial transitions," he added. While AIF already cooperates with a number of international and Vatican authorities, it signed key memoranda of understanding the past six months with: the Secretariat of State and the Secretariat for the Economy "concern- ing the supervision and monitoring of nonprofit entities" and for public authorities; the Vatican's prosecutor's office, called the Promoter of Justice - and police force, known as the gen- darmes, "concerning the exchange of information for intelligence purposes"; and the general auditor, concerning ex- isting collaboration and the exchange of information, Barbagallo wrote. The Egmont Group, an umbrella as- sociation of 164 financial intelligence units worldwide, had suspended the Financial Information Authority from its international information circuit in November after Vatican police raided and seized information from the of- fices of AIF. The AIF was reinstated in January after it could guarantee ac- cepted standards would be followed in handling confidential information by authorities; that guarantee was part of the memorandum of understanding with the Vatican's Promoter of Justice, the president wrote. Collaboration and exchange of infor- mation are "a fundamental prerequisite and guarantee for preventing and com- bating illegal activities as well as for promoting transparency and integrity in financial activities," the report said.
BY MARK PATTISON
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON (CNS) - More than 100 bishops from around the world have signed on to a state- ment seeking mandatory due diligence laws and regulations in the interna- tional supply chain. As a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, "particularly vulnerable to the worst impacts of the crisis are the millions of workers lower down the supply chain - many of whom are women," the bishops said. "For instance, some big fash- ion brands and retailers have canceled orders and refused to pay for textiles already produced, result- ing in millions of workers being sent home without pay, social security or compensation. "Through their opera- tions, irresponsible com- panies are complicit in acts of violence and suf- fering. We, Catholic lead- ers throughout the world, call on states to put an end to this," the bishops said in an early July statement. "Now more than ever, we need mandatory sup- ply chain due diligence to stop corporate abuse and guarantee global solidar- ity," they said. They added, "Irrespon- sible companies have long been involved in various abuses, by evading taxes that could serve to build and maintain public ser- vices such as hospitals or schools, by polluting our soils, water and air, or by being complicit in gross human rights violations around the world, like forced and child labor." The statement said, "As bishops, we feel we have a moral and spiritual obliga- tion to speak about the urgency of reordering the priorities." The bishops signing the statement hail from North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Among the prelates sign- ing was Archbishop Ro- berto O. Gonzalez Nieves of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The bishops quoted from Pope Francis' encycli- cal "Evangelii Gaudium": "Each meaningful eco- nomic decision made in one part of the world has repercussions everywhere else; consequently, no gov- ernment can act without regard for shared respon- sibility." They also cited his message to the executive chairman of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, last January: "The overriding
Parolin meets ambassadors about Mideast
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vati- can secretary of state, met with the U.S. and Israeli ambassadors to the Vatican to express concern that "possible unilateral actions" on their part would fur- ther jeopardize peace in the region. "The Holy See reiterates that the state of Israel and the state of Palestine have the right to exist and to live in peace and security, within internationally rec- ognized borders," said a statement from the Vatican press office July 1. "It thus appeals to the parties to do everything pos- sible to reopen the process of direct negotiation, on the basis of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations, and aided by measures that can reestablish reciprocal confidence," it said.
English parishes see 'dramatic fall' in income
(CNA) - An English bishop has said that parishes have seen "dramatic fall" in income as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury urged the govern- ment to step in to help dioceses struggling financially as a result of the pandemic. "The weeks of the national lockdown saw a dramatic fall of about a third in parish income. This is having a serious impact on the operation of parishes," he told CNA. Mike Kane, a local Member of Parliament, raised the financial plight of the Diocese of Shrewsbury, in west- ern England, in the House of Commons last month. He noted June 25 that the diocese's income was down by a third since the government announced a nationwide lockdown March 23. He said that this loss of around $875,000 would have a long-term impact on the diocese's ability to maintain its buildings. Kane, the Labour MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East, urged the government to consider introducing an "enhanced gift aid scheme" to shore up diocesan finances.
Financial watchdog: increased cooperation with Vatican agencies
100-plus bishops demand supply chain due diligence 'now more than ever'
BRIEFSI 2 AROUND THE WORLD
THE CATHOLIC FREE PRESS JULY 10, 2020
Pope backs U.N. resolution for global cease-fire
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - Pope Francis praised the United Nations' adoption of a global cease-fire resolu- tion amid the coronavirus pandemic that has swept the world. "The request for a global and immediate cease-fire, which would allow that peace and security necessary to provide the needed humanitarian assistance, is commendable," the pope said July 5, after praying the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square. "I hope that this decision will be implemented effec- tively and promptly for the good of the many people who are suffering. May this Security Council resolution become a courageous first step toward a peaceful fu- ture," he said. The resolution, which was first proposed in late March by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, was unanimously passed July 1 by the 15-member Security Council.
Italian cardinal says it is time to rebuild
ROME (CNA) - A cardinal in northern Italy said Fri- day that the COVID-19 health crisis has created "im- mense" poverty in the area, and now is the time to rebuild, to take responsibility, and to share resources. Indications from local charities and soup kitchens show that poverty in Bologna right now is "immense," Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the city's archbishop, told journalists July 3. "The economic crisis has already started." "We should have a sense of great closeness, of soli- darity, of sharing," he said. Zuppi, who was made a cardinal by Pope Francis last October, spoke to journalists in an informal online meeting organized by the Iscom Association. Since 2015, Zuppi has led the Archdiocese of Bologna, which is located in northern Italy, one of the regions worst hit by the novel coronavirus, with more than 28,000 total cases and 4,200 deaths. The cardinal said the pandemic had involved every- one, at every level of the Church, and had given us "a sense of responsibility" and "an opportunity for shar- ing resources." Reconstruction, he added, would require "much humility and much determination," not unlike Italy's efforts in the post-war period.
Appeals for debt relief for developing countries
ROME (CNA) - The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva is urging countries to help relieve the "crippling external debt burdens" of developing countries struggling in the coronavirus pandemic. "There is no doubt that the current COVID-19 crisis will more severely affect the lives and livelihoods of those in the developing world," Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic told the UN trade and development board July 2. "The immediate challenge is to ensure that policy- makers have the room and resources to respond to the health shock and to mitigate the accompanying economic damage. Whether and how this happens will have direct consequences for creating a fairer, more in- clusive and resilient recovery," the archbishop said. consideration, never to be forgotten, is that we are all members of the one human family. The moral obligation to care for one another flows from this fact, as does the correla- tive principle of placing the human person, rather than the mere pursuit of power or profit, at the very center of public policy." The bishops noted a February report by the Eu- ropean Commission that "voluntary measures are failing," and a 2019 Ger- man government study that found "less than 20% of German companies conduct human rights due diligence, despite (it) being a requirement in inter- national frameworks for almost a decade." The statement said, "We call on all governments to uphold their obligations under international law to protect human rights and prevent corporate abuses." Laws, the bishops said, "should introduce manda- tory environmental and human rights due dili- gence, that is, to identify, assess, stop, prevent and mitigate the risks and vio- lations to the environment and all human rights throughout the supply chains of businesses, and to substantially improve the possibilities of af- fected people to claim for compensation in national civil courts."
CNS PHOTO REMO CASILLI, REUTERS
Carmelo Barbagallo, president of the Vatican's Financial Information Authority, gestures during a July 2 interview in Vatican City ahead of the release of the authority's annual report.
CNS PHOTO ADRIANO MACHADO, REUTERS
Workers unload medical supplies donated by the United Arab Emirates from an aircraft in Brasilia, Brazil, during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 100 bishops from around the world have signed on to a statement seeking mandatory due diligence laws and regulations in the international supply chain.
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