- Banned
- #1
Interesting facts about that "religious" outfit
Pope Pius XI’s coffers were empty when Mussolini offered him the equivalent of a billion dollars in today’s money if the Catholic Church would enthusiastically back his dictatorship. More importantly, Il Duce also created a sovereign state placing the pope and his men outside and above all civil law.
Pius XI placed the windfall from his 1929 treaty with Mussolini in the hands of the financial genius, Bernardino Nogara. With the full knowledge of Popes Pius XI and XII, Nogara built an economic partnership with Mussolini and invested the pope’s money without regard to moral constraints such as a country’s culpability in World War II. So close was the Vatican to the Axis, the Allies intentionally fed the churchmen incorrect strategic information knowing it would reach the Italians and Germans. In addition to the Church’s direct involvement in the slaughter of Orthodox, Roma and Jewish Croatians, the Vatican’s investments and diplomatic support for the Axis made them participants in the deaths, misery and displacement of millions.[1]
“World War II also played a huge role in the creation of the Vatican Bank, as well as the unique power it held. As the Allies imposed restrictions on bank accounts, it became harder to move money around. Nogara created the bank, called the Institute for Religious Works (or IOR), in 1942 to avoid having financial transactions tracked through western banks. Because it resided in Vatican City, it was exempt from all wartime restrictions and became ‘the world’s best offshore bank.’”
A view of the Institute for Religious Works, the Vatican bank, in Vatican City. (Photo: Reuters)
The Pope s Treasure
Pope Pius XI’s coffers were empty when Mussolini offered him the equivalent of a billion dollars in today’s money if the Catholic Church would enthusiastically back his dictatorship. More importantly, Il Duce also created a sovereign state placing the pope and his men outside and above all civil law.
Pius XI placed the windfall from his 1929 treaty with Mussolini in the hands of the financial genius, Bernardino Nogara. With the full knowledge of Popes Pius XI and XII, Nogara built an economic partnership with Mussolini and invested the pope’s money without regard to moral constraints such as a country’s culpability in World War II. So close was the Vatican to the Axis, the Allies intentionally fed the churchmen incorrect strategic information knowing it would reach the Italians and Germans. In addition to the Church’s direct involvement in the slaughter of Orthodox, Roma and Jewish Croatians, the Vatican’s investments and diplomatic support for the Axis made them participants in the deaths, misery and displacement of millions.[1]
“World War II also played a huge role in the creation of the Vatican Bank, as well as the unique power it held. As the Allies imposed restrictions on bank accounts, it became harder to move money around. Nogara created the bank, called the Institute for Religious Works (or IOR), in 1942 to avoid having financial transactions tracked through western banks. Because it resided in Vatican City, it was exempt from all wartime restrictions and became ‘the world’s best offshore bank.’”
A view of the Institute for Religious Works, the Vatican bank, in Vatican City. (Photo: Reuters)
The Pope s Treasure
