Corruption leaves Franciscan Order close to financial ruin

ONE OF the largest Franciscan orders is on the brink of bankruptcy, after tens of millions of dollars disappeared in a massive investment fraud.

Friars administering the 800-year-old order’s endowment funds engaged in “questionable financial activities”, the Order of Friars Minor said. The order, which runs churches and convents in 110 countries, subscribes to the teachings of St Francis of Assisi, who endorsed a life of poverty.

Its leader Br Michael Perry said an internal investigation had uncovered “questionable financial activities that were conducted by friars entrusted with the care of the patrimony of the order”.

“Because of the scope and magnitude of these activities, they have placed the financial stability of the General Curia at grave risk,” Br Perry wrote. The order is in “grave, and I underscore grave, financial difficulty, with a significant burden of debt”, he said.

The announcement was published as an open letter on the order’s website. It also asked the order’s superiors around the world for “understanding and for a financial contribution to help address the current situation, which involves also the repayment of significant debts”.

The Friars’ general treasurer Fr Giancarlo Lati has resigned, the letter said. Fr Lati was also reportedly responsible for managing Il Cantico, a luxury Rome hotel owned by the order, whose website promises to use profits to help the poor, street children and HIV/Aids centres.