Cardinal Parolin asked Vatican bank for loan to exit troubling London realty deal
Parolin, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said he intended to use the loan to pay off a mortgage on the property that was weighing heavily on the Vatican coffers. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin attends a meeting in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
January 11, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the second-highest-ranking official at the Vatican, requested a loan two years ago from the Vatican Bank, also referred to as the IOR, or Institute of Religious Works, hoping to buy a high-priced property in London currently at the center of the institution’s financial scandals, calling it “a valid investment,” according to a letter leaked to the Italian newspaper Domani.