Rome: The spotlight is on Cardinal George Pell's Secretariat for the Economy following the unexpected resignation of the Vatican's Auditor-General Libero Milone.
Milone who had an autonomous role in Pell's office, was appointed two years ago for a five-year term after an executive search to audit the city state's financial dealings. Pell was appointed in 2014 to establish the secretariat and untangle the Vatican finances.
Only three months ago, Milone gave an enthusiastic interview with no suggestion that he might leave before the end of his term. Then he said he had at last acquired adequate knowledge of the complex network of 142 Vatican entities. He had a 12-member, all lay staff, half of whom are women.
No reason was given for his abrupt resignation last week but one possibility is clashes of opinion with Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, head of the Vatican's central bank APSA which administers the Vatican's real estate and financial holdings.
Calcagno has never welcomed Pell's role as an overseer of Vatican financial operations. In May Calcagno's office informed other Vatican offices that they should report on their financial dealings to the financial services firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers which has been working with the Vatican.
Pell and Milone hit back publicly with a strongly worded bulletin saying that checking Vatican finances was their responsibility and no reports should be sent to PwC.
It was the latest shoot out between Pell and Calcagno, known as Rambo because of his collection of arms and his hobby of hunting, who has occupied his position since before Pope Francis's election.
Calcagno protested successfully when Francis gave Pell control of one of the two sections of APSA. It is not clear who is the winner in their most recent clash but Milone might be a victim.
His retirement, just the latest in a dramatic series of step-downs in the Vatican financial world, raises fears of further leaks of documents such as that which led to the trial of two Vatican employees. Shortly after his appointment, Milone denounced violation of his office computer.
The Italian press has been asking whether Pell will himself soon be replaced because of such opposition to him and because of the child sex abuse enquiry in Australia.
But the just-released 2016 report of the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), often called the Vatican Bank, is an argument for retaining him. The Bank profits more than doubled from €16.1 million ($24 million) to €36 million ($53 million). This was due to a restructuring and new methods introduced by Pell, which among other things, reduced expenses by €4 million. Previously the IOR was accused of money laundering but as part of the reforms many accounts have been closed.
Calcagno must tender his resignation to Francis next February when he reaches the age of 75. Pell has already tendered his but the latest figures from IOR mean Francis will not be in a hurry to replace him unless there is dramatic news from Australia.
