The Vatican wants to save the religious hospitals of the institutions

Vatican City, October 6, 2021 (KAP) The Vatican wants to provide economic support to church health facilities. The Catholic Health Care Foundation aims to support command institutions above all else. They are often no longer able to maintain their hospitals and nursing homes. The Vatican announced on Wednesday that Pope Francis signed a similar order at the end of September.

The Foundation aims to preserve the “founders’ charisma” and to integrate the threatening institutions “into the network of similar structures of the Church”. In light of the frequent financial crises of many regimes and their institutions, the Vatican wants to help ensure that they continue to exercise their “beneficial purpose in accordance with the commandments of social doctrine”.

Above all, one wants to prevent religious denominations and other ecclesiastical institutions from making hasty decisions such as selling out under economic pressure, APSA’s head of the Vatican Merchandise Administration, Bishop Nunzio Galatino, explained to the “Vatican News” portal. The new institution will be affiliated with APSA and managed by Galantino.

In the past there were frequent reports of sometimes enormous financial difficulties in church hospitals. In light of rising costs and sometimes intense competition, ecclesiastical institutions are finding it increasingly difficult to develop their own Christian potential. There are also cases of blatant mismanagement.

In Rome, for example, this applies to the Istituto Dermopatico dell’Immacolata, a professionally respected dermatologist but with economic problems. The institute, founded by Sons of the Immaculate Conception, entered a serious financial and administrative crisis in 2012, so the Vatican conducted an emergency renovation in 2013. The clinic has been sponsored by a foundation since 2015, whose head changed for the fourth time in March.

Immediately after his intestinal surgery in July, Pope Francis campaigned for “good quality health care to be made accessible to all” as everywhere as possible. “We must not lose these valuable assets,” he demanded at the time. As much as possible, everyone should adhere to this. He also admitted that even in the church, “some health facilities are not working well from an economic point of view due to poor management.” But he cautioned against rushing to sell such facilities immediately.