The Pope refused a one million euro donation from the Argentinian government to Scholas Ocurrentes. In a letter explaining the reasons for refusing the cheque, the Pope invited the foundation not to “slip” into corruption. The curious case of the figure 666, the number of the Beast.
A donation of over one million euros from the Argentinian government returned to sender, a foundation of pontifical right and the cherry on the cake: a 666 in the donation sum, the number of the Beast. At first glance this would seem to have all the makings of an international diplomatic intrigue, but there is a far simpler explanation: Pope Francis does not want to be a pawn. The Spanish section of Vatican Insider has published an in-depth analysis of the incident.
The decree
Here are the facts: The government of Argentina’s new president Mauricio Macri issued decree 711/16 on May 30th, paying out 16, 666,000 pesos to Scholas Ocurrentes, an International Foundation of Pontifical Right, endorsed by Pope Francis a year ago, to promote social integration and a culture of encounter through a network that comprises more than 430,000 schools across five continents. Following Scholas’ 6th World Congress held in the Vatican the afternoon of Sunday 29 May in the presence of Holywood stars like Richard Gere, Salma Hayek and George Clooney, the Argentinian government decided to donate the generous sum of just over a million euros to the foundation. The previous day, the decree was supposed to be read in the presence of the Pope but a slightly embarrassed representative of the Argentinian government said he did not have it with him.
Returned to sender
That money was never to leave the State’s coffers. In a letter dated 9 June, the global heads of Scholas Ocurrentes, José María del Corral and Enrique Palmeyro, announced that they were refusing the donation on the basis that “someone is seeking to undermine this institutional gesture to spread confusion and division among the Argentinians”. What happened in the 10 days that passed between the announcement regarding the donation and the refusal? The Pope wrote to the two heads asking them to turn the offering down. “The Argentinian government must respond to the needs of the people, you have no right to ask one cent from them,” Francis wrote, adding: “God always provides through Divine Providence”. In a post scriptum, the Pope apparently expressed his displeasure at the figure “666”, which is the mark of the devil. It should be said that responsibility for the choice of the sum did not lie with the Argentinian government but was requested specifically by Scholas Ocurrentes and corresponded to the sum required to renovate the foundation’s headquartered in Argentina and for the hiring of 36 members of staff.
Bergoglio’s precedents
First and foremost, it should be recalled that when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Bergoglio had a habit of not accepting money from the State. He urged the State and all institutions to help the excluded and the poor directly, not by giving money to the Church. A year and a half ago, the Pope sent a letter to the President of the Argentinian Episcopal Conference inviting bishops and their fellow countrymen not to ask the government (headed by Cristina de Kirchner at the time) for money for the Eucharistic congress. This is why Francis, who did not know about the donation which the new government sent to Scholas Ocurrentes, wrote a letter to the foundation’s heads.
The message to Scholas
Vatican Insider has learnt that in his letter, the Pope wrote that “as a father and brother” he feared “you may start to take the slippery road towards corruption”. “Forgive me if this offends you,” Francis added, “but this is a gentle slipping that happens without you even realising it,” it is “contagious” and “self-justifying” and eventually you end up “worse than at the start”. This is a “slippery and comfortable path which can be justified but is lethal”. “I prefer a joyful improvised football game played by young people with a shared ball, in neighbourhood yard, than a big championship played in a famous stadium but steeped in corruption”. To eliminate the risk of corruption, Francis said in his letter, that what is needed is “austerity, poverty, noble work. Be apostles of a message, not businessmen working for international organisations”.
Francis’ reasons
The reasons for the Pope’s refusal were certainly not to do with numerology and Satanic symbols. The decision to turn down the donation was taken for altogether different reasons. First and foremost, some newspapers presented the donation as a gesture of reconciliation shown by the Argentinian government towards the Pope. The government did not deny this interpretation. But this attracted harsh criticism against Bergoglio. It is important to bear in mind that Argentinian political circles often play tug of war with the tunic of their fellow countryman-turned Pope, in an attempt to drag him into disputes and to fulfil their own interests. This is one of the reasons why Francis decided to reject the donation, a move which is totally in character. But the shocking decision is also – mainly in fact – a message to the foundation’s heads, its management and the use of resources that come into its hands. The Pope has clearly invited them not to “slip into corruption”. The Argentinian government, having responded to a specific request from the foundation, rolled with the punches, taking stock of the returned funds and reiterating its commitment to supporting Scholas in promoting the values of peace, inclusion and understanding among young people. The foundation’s two heads, Palmeyro and del Corral told the government they will cover estimated costs with loans and private donations.
