Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Inside the VaticanMay 09, 2020
The tower of the Institute for Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, is pictured at the Vatican May 6, 2016. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)

Last week, an Italian newspaper reported that Pope Francis had fired five employees who were under investigation for their involvement in the $200 million purchase of minority stake in a luxury apartment development in London’s upscale Chelsea neighborhood.

Listen and subscribe to Inside the Vatican on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

After the Vatican’s Secretariat of State lost money on the investment, the Vatican’s middleman, Italian businessman Raffaele Mincione, advised the Vatican to buy the remainder of the property, which he owned. The Vatican’s judicial system is now investigating staffers who were involved in the deal for possible financial improprieties. Last year, Vatican police raided several offices in the Secretariat of State and the Vatican’s financial watchdog office and suspended the staff members.

America’s Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell reported this week that the situation of the five employees was more complex than the premature, unjust firings the Italian newspaper had made them out to be.

On this episode of the Inside the Vatican podcast, Gerry and I explain the background of the London deal, what happened to the five employees, and what questions still remain.

Links from the show:

Has Pope Francis dismissed five Vatican employees linked to a property deal in London?

Vatican employees suspended as finance investigation continues

Vatican police raid Secretariat of State and finance watchdog offices

The latest from america

On June 9, America Media's team of experts hosted an exclusive, subscriber-only event to answer your specific questions about Pope Leo XIV, the conclave and this historic time in our church.
America StaffJune 10, 2025
Walter Brueggemann's influence in the academy reached across denominations and traditions.
James T. KeaneJune 10, 2025
With the Gaza death toll rising and entire families obliterated as Israeli forces seek to strike diminishing numbers of Hamas targets, more impassioned appeals for an end to the violence have come from ecclesial and political leaders from around the world.
Kevin ClarkeJune 10, 2025
Every papal diplomat around the world must let people know that the Catholic Church is always on the side of the marginalized and is ready to face everything “out of love,” Pope Leo XIV said.