Pope resignation timing explanation: Thank you, Rhode Island judge. Papal papers unsealed friday.

[freshwest]

45. Did it really bring down the Vatican bank? It may still be operational:

Emboldening mine in some places:



The Institute for Works of Religion (Italian: Istituto per le Opere di Religione – IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held institute[1] located inside Vatican City run by a CEO who reports directly to a committee of cardinals, and ultimately to the Pope (or the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church during a sede vacante). Since its assets are not considered property of the Holy See, it is not overseen by the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See,[2] and it is listed in the Annuario Pontificio not under "Holy See" or "Vatican City State", but after the pages on religious institutes,[3] and cultural institutes,[4] and placed with charitable foundations[5] such as the John Paul Foundation for the Sahel.[6] The bank's most recent President, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, was removed from his post by the board of directors in May 2012, for dereliction of duty.[7]

The Institute was involved in a major political and financial scandal in the 1980s, concerning the 1982 $4.7 billion collapse of Banco Ambrosiano, of which it was a major shareholder. The head of IOR from 1971 to 1989, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, was under consideration for indictment in 1982 in Italy as an accessory of the bankruptcy; however, he was never brought to trial due to the Italian courts' ruling that the priest, being a high-ranking prelate of the Vatican, had diplomatic immunity from prosecution.[8]

As a private organization performing banking-like functions for religious institutions, it is not subject to public scrutiny. It nonetheless, presented a short presentation on its operations in 2012, apparently in response to recent criticism.[9]

The Bank Identifier Code of the Institute for Works of Religion is IOPRVAVX.

2009–2012 Vatican money laundering investigation

In 2009, the Italian magazine Panorama reported that IOR was being investigated by Italian authorities from the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Banca d'Italia and the Guardia di Finanza over money laundering transactions worth €180 million (US$ 218 million) through a branch of UniCredit located at Via della Conciliazione across from St. Peter's Basilica.[27] The bank handles accounts of the religious orders and other Catholic associations using the "offshore" (i.e., foreign) status of the Holy See.[28]

On 21 September 2010, Italian police declared that Gotti Tedeschi and another IOR manager were under investigation for money laundering charges. €23 million were seized as a precaution.[29] Police began an investigation regarding Tedeschi around a week before the news was made public after a division of the Bank of Italy alerted police to two transactions involving the IOR that were deemed suspicious.[30] The money seized was bound from an Italian bank, Credito Artigianato, to JP Morgan Chase and another Italian bank, Banca del Fucino.[30] Both the origin and destination of the funds were accounts under the control of the IOR.[31] The IOR had allegedly failed to disclose the origin of the money, a violation of Italian law.[30]

In a statement regarding the investigation, the Vatican said that it was "...perplexed and astonished by the initiatives of the Rome prosecutors, considering the data necessary is already available at the Bank of Italy."[30]

According to the police, the presence of the investigation did not mean either of the officials involved had been charged with a crime, and a judicial ruling would be necessary to continue the investigation.[31]

On Thursday, December 30, 2010, the Catholic News Service homepage reported that Pope Benedict XVI had issued an Apostolic Letter that established the Financial Information Authority as an independent agency to oversee the monetary and commercial activities of all Vatican-related institutions, including the IOR. It will monitor all Vatican financial operations and make sure they meet international norms against money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.

On May 31, 2011, Rome's attorney general released the 23 million Euros in assets which had been seized in September, apparently in acknowledgment of the steps taken in the following months to conform the Institute to international standards.

On May 24, 2012, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was ousted as Head of the Vatican Bank because of "failure to fulfill the primary functions of his office". He is currently being investigated on suspicion of money laundering.[32]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vatican_Bank

Agreed, their status as a foreign nation has served them very well. So will it serve such enterprises as Belle Isle in MI.

I remember reading about this a while back in some articles and thought it meant the Church was going broke. But they can't be charged apparently nor even investigated. They have weathered a lot of lawsuits of historical merit.

Of course this is the Wikipedia page and something may have changed. Have you heard anything more recent?

TIA.