The Financial Times reports that the London based, Vatican owned Sloane Avenue property will be sold for “around £200 million” to a private equity group.
Newsroom (11/12/2021 19:35,Gaudium Press) With the sale of the property on Sloane Avenue in London, the notable financial loss is glaringly evident: the property which was purchased with Church money had originally cost the Vatican approximately £350 million. Now, according to the Financial Times, it is in the final stages of being sold for “about £200 million” to the private equity group Bain Capital. This amounts to a loss of more than £100 million, equal to about 117 million euros.
Adding further to the drama of this loss, news outlets are emphasizing that the money spent was indeed the money of widows – like the one in the Gospel – of widows who deposit their few coins in the almshouses of the churches; the money of the poor for a cause in which the whole world collaborates with the Pontiff when collecting Peter’s Pence. This collection, according to the Vatican, is meant “for the many different needs of the Universal Church and for the relief of those most in need.”
It is also noted that the London property market is one in which experienced investors can work wonders in terms of profit: so why are Church investors losing this enormous amount of money? Simply because it was purchased well above the real value, and even within that very lucrative property market, this particular piece of real estate is worth at least £100 million less than the amount paid for it.
This news has led to increased interest in the trial of Cardinal Becciu and other officials of the Secretariat of State, as well as outside financiers; a process already replete with twists and turns. As an example, charges against the accused were lifted last month after the Vatican judge requested that the prosecutors provide additional evidence to the defense lawyers; but were these not handed over in full? Or how the main accuser, Msgr. Perlasca, who was head of the administrative section dealing with investments for more than 10 years, now has gone from the accused to the accuser?
Without doubt, the Catholic world wishes to punish those responsible – whether their acts are simply negligent or intentionally criminal. Anything that appears to stand in the way of a trial and justice will be a negative mark on the Church’s handling of financial affairs.
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
