Pope Zaps Fundraising Arm Formed in Francis’ Final Days

Pope Leo XIV has taken a major step to address one of Pope Francis’ more controversial financial initiatives, canceling a special Holy See fundraising commission that was established under questionable circumstances while Francis was hospitalized. On Thursday, Leo formally suppressed the commission, abrogated its statutes, and dismissed its members, according to the AP. He ordered that the commission’s assets be transferred to the Holy See as a whole, with the Vatican patrimony office overseeing the process. A new working group, composed of papally approved members, will be created to develop future fundraising proposals and an appropriate organizational structure.

The move is the latest indication that history’s first American pope is tidying up the unfinished business of Francis’ pontificate. Leo appears to be correcting problematic policies where necessary as he prepares for a new year focused more fully on his own agenda. The Vatican had announced the creation of the commission, its statutes, and its members on February 26, while Francis was hospitalized with double pneumonia. At the time, he was visited by senior officials from the Secretariat of State. The commission’s president was the assessor of the Secretariat of State—the same office that Francis had previously stripped of asset management authority after losing tens of millions of euros in a controversial London property deal.

Critics immediately raised concerns about the concentration of power in the Secretariat of State, the lack of professional fundraisers, and the absence of Americans on the board, even though the U.S. is the Vatican’s largest donor. Some saw the commission as an Italian-led effort to leverage a sick pope and channel unchecked donations into the Secretariat’s coffers after Francis had taken control of the $684 million sovereign wealth fund. Pope Leo’s decree appears aimed at resetting the system entirely. Wealthy American donors, in particular, had looked to Leo, a former math major, to bring greater financial transparency and accountability to the Vatican’s operations.

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