President of the Pontifical Academy for Life Allegedly Embezzles Half a Million


On Dec 14th The Pillar published a report that Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life diverted hundreds of thousands of euros allocated to support missionary and charitable works to finance building projects in Rome, including the renovation of his personal apartment.

Paglia is widely seen as someone appointed to PAL to remove orthodox members and appoint people with agendas radically at odds with the Academy's purpose and mission, most recently a number of individuals who are vocal supporters of abortion. Paglia has defended his decision to appoint, on the grounds of dialogue.

Paglia also recently remarked that either Pope Francis or his successor would overturn the Catholic moratorium on contraception.

You can add this to a long list of deeply controversial and anti-Catholic statements made by Paglia who is perhaps best known for commissioning a homo-erotic mural in his cathedral in which he himself features prominently.

According to multiple independent sources with knowledge of the events, Archbishop Paglia confirmed in a 2015 memo to Holy See financial officials that hundreds of thousands of euros had been paid to an Italian construction contractor instead of going to missionary and charitable projects to support poor families and orphans. While Paglia claimed to have repaid some of the money diverted from charitable funds, sources say that he did so with other donations to the pontifical council, and not with money specifically provided for restitution.

Paglia has huge form, notwithstanding the catalogue of errors littering his curriculum vitae as President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Francis Maier recounts his experience of Paglia while organising the World Meeting of Families in 2012.

He says:
"Briefly put, the Eighth World Meeting of Families was a remarkable success. Its one chronic problem, in the eyes of the Philadelphia team actually doing the work, had a name: Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia."

Maier tells of lunching in Rome where a high level Vatican official called openly called Paglia a crook

"Flamboyant, eccentric, changeable in his moods and thinking, and with a taste for last minute, expensive program complications, Paglia was a constant irritant to Chaput and stateside event staff."
How do these men get to these positions when they have such a well known reputation for problematic decisions and dodgy interpretations of Catholic teaching? Paglia wastes no time in confirming that Pope Francis' authority is behind his pro-abort appointments and liberal journalists like The Tablet's Chris Lamb call him Pope Francis' "point man"
And a "key ally" of the Argentinian Pontiff

Given the embarassing ineptitude of the man, you really would think he would stand down, proffer his resignation. Irrespective of whether he has the integrity to do so, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the responsibility for keeping this man in high office and in a position to steal from the faithful lies with Pope Francis.


 

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