POLITIC & CRIME

POLITICS & CRIME Why the Pope's appointment of six women to the Vatican Economic Council is important There were no women on that council during the past five-year term MLADEN PLEŠE 45 MINUTES AGO 0 RECOMMENDATIONS 0 COMMENTS LAST CHANGE: AUG 11, 2020 Pope Francis has again made a historic step forward: he has appointed as many as six women at once to the Vatican Economic Council or the Economic Council. This council was established in 2014 and has the task of overseeing the work of the administrative and financial structures and the dictatorship of the Roman Curia, institutions associated with the Holy See and the Vatican City State. The Council was established by Pope Francis in the Apostolic Letter "Fidelis dispensator et Prudens" ("Faithful and prudent administrator"), which created a new coordinating agency for the economic and administrative affairs of the Holy See and the Vatican City State. The council has 15 members, eight are cardinals and bishops who reflect the universality of the church, and seven are lay experts of various nationalities with recognized professional financial abilities. FROM BLAIR TO PRINCE CHARLES Of the seven lay people in the Council this year, Pope Francis has appointed as many as six women. Thus, Pope Francis continued to drive conservative circles in the Catholic Church crazy: he showed determination to continue with his policy, which gives women in the Vatican the opportunity to perform high duties, of course all those functions that do not require ordination. There were no women on that council during the past five-year term. All six women are European with prominent careers in financial institutions. Thus, Englishwoman Ruth Mary Kelly , according to a biography published by the Vatican, was Secretary of State for Education to the Labor government between 2004 and 2008, led by Tony Blair . She subsequently joined the large global banking corporation HSBC Global Asset Management, as Head of Strategic Customer Relations. She is now Vice-Rector for Research and Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Louis. Mary's, London and a member of the influential Catholic organization Opus Dei. The British Lesile Jane Ferrar was educated at Harvard Business School and the University of Durham, is the commander of the Royal Victorian Order and from 2015 to 2017 managed the finances of Prince Charles . PROMINENT CAREERS German Charlotte Kreuter-Kirchhof studied law at the universities of Heidelberg, Geneva and Tübingen. Since 2016, she has been a professor of German, European and international public law at the Faculty of Law at the Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf. President of the Hildegaris Association, a movement of German Catholic women caring for female students. German Marija Kolak , who held senior positions at Berlin’s Volksbank, attended an advanced management program at Harvard Business School and is currently president of the Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffisenbanken in Berlin. Spaniard María Concepción Osacar Garaicoechea , is the founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of Azora Capital and Azora Gestion, SGIIC. Azora is an independent investment manager based in Spain, specializing in real estate and energy. She was Vice President of Santander Central Hispanico Activos Immobiliarios and President of Banif Immobiliaria and INVERCO (Association of Collective Investment Institutions and Pension Funds). Spaniard Eva Castillo Sanz , graduated in law and business studies at the Pontifical University of Comillas (E-3) in Madrid. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Bankia SA, as well as the Board of Directors of Zardoya Otis SA and the Supervisory Board of Fundación Comillas-ICAI and Fundación Entreculturas. The only lay man on the Vatican Economic Council is Alberto Minali of Italy. He served as CEO and Chief Financial Officer for Investments of the Generali Group in Italy, and before that was CEO of Gruppo Cattolica Assicurazioni. FOUR ADVISERS TO THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS That Pope Francis will advocate for gender equality in the Vatican, the toughest and oldest male fort in the world, was revealed as early as last year when he appointed the first four women as advisers to the Synod of Bishops. Earlier this year, he continued in the same style: he appointed Italian Francesco di Giovanni as deputy head of diplomacy of the Holy See and Archbishop Paul Gallagher . It took over the newly established State Relations Service. She is the first woman to be appointed to such a high position in the Vatican Secretariat of State. Until recently, among the most influential women in the Vatican was Barbara Jata , director of the Vatican Museums. FINANCIAL SCANDALS AND EMPTY COFFERS The appointment of six women to the Economic Council is of particular importance because the finances of the Roman Curia are in an extremely difficult situation. The coffers were almost emptied due to a number of financial scandals involving top Vatican officials, but also due to reduced revenues due to the COVID 19 pandemic. At the same time, corruption was so widespread in the Vatican that an anti-corruption law had to be passed that stipulated that deals could only be concluded through public tenders. Until now, Vatican congregations and offices have done so of their own free will. One of the biggest scandals was a recent failed investment in luxury real estate in central London that caused the Vatican to lose $ 150 million. Pope Francis has appointed the Archbishop of Munich and Cardinal Reinhard Marx as President of the Council and six more Cardinals as members of the Council for a term of five years. These are Hungarian Péter Erdő , Brazilian Odilo Pedro Scherer , Canadian Gérald Cyprien Lacroix , American Joseph William Tobin , Swede Anders Arborelius and Italian Giuseppe Petrocchi . Since the old member of the Council, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier Fox, is 79 years old, his term has been extended by one year because the cardinals must retire when they turn 80