Francis Caught With His Hand in the Cash Register

LifeSiteNews has obtained leaked documents from The Papal Foundation, a U.S.-based charitable organization, showing that last summer Pope Francis personally requested a $ 25 million grant for the Roman Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata (IDI), a corruption-plagued dermatological hospital.

The Foundation was set up by American Catholics to help Popes to support the poor in developing countries. Lay people become members of the Foundation by pledging to donate at least $1 million over ten years. The foundation has grown to over $ 215 million.

Francis’s request was over 100 times the largest ever single grant that had been made via the foundation.

In May, 2017, La Repubblica – the only newspaper Francis says he reads – reported on court rulings involving trustees of the IDI detailing 24 indictments, leading to a dozen convictions, some of which carried over three years in prison for embezzlement.

Without a clear explanation on how the grant would be used, Cardinal Wuerl personally authorized the payment of $12 million in two separate installments and vetoed any protests by the board and members of the Foundation.

This prompted the resignation of the chairman of the Foundation’s audit committee on January 6. In his resignation he pointed out that with regard to the grant application, “there was no professional due diligence, just a lot of fluff.”

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