In my blog of April 19th The Church vs Mammon (see link below ), I had talked about the fraying lines between the church vs mammon. I have just received confirmation that the line has finally dissolved. I recently read a news item about a Chinese Buddhist shrine Putuo, which also has a mountain resort , testing the waters for a Initial Public Offering of Dollars One Hundred and Eighteen million .
Around about the same time, news items started appearing about The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) or The Vatican Bank as it is commonly known, trying to clear its name of involvement in money laundering. This is not the first time that the God's bank has been under a dark cloud. In the 1980's also there were similar rumors which supposedly lead to the the death of a senior Italian banker Roberto Calvi ,who reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a bridge in London.
This is not a isolated incident. Religious institutions from around the world have been involved in questionable financial deals. The Bishops of Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi in Greece were implicated in a real estate scandal not too long ago.
There are numerous incidents of the Muslim Wakf Boards in India (among the largest holders of real estate in India on behalf of charity) entering into special deals with businessmen, real estate developers and politicians .According to the Tehelka magazine, in Karnataka state alone, about 20,000 acres out of a total of 54,000 acres of property owned by the Karnataka Wakf Board worth approximately forty billion dollars has been encroached upon . Even if it is one-tenth the estimated amount, it is quite substantial. These are not isolated incidents. In almost every religion , there have been such scandals.
All this is not surprising.Religious institutions are among the largest holders of real estate and other forms of wealth, gold, precious stones or art, in almost every single country.This results from either purchases or gifts received from the state or by donors over the centuries.The latest Economist magazine reports of efforts underway to compensate the church in the Czech Republic for properties sized when the communists came to power in 1948. Prior to that the church was the largest holder of real estate in the country.
As countries develop and prosper, the value of these properties appreciate.You will have conniving administrators working closely with businessmen and politicians, to find a way to dislodge the ownership, especially since historical records of these properties tend to be fuzzy.
The Putuo shrine has now opened the door for the religious institutions to become more transparent and maybe create liquidity in the market place.Considering the daily income received by the temples, mosques, churches, some creative investment bankers can perhaps securitize these income streams. The Tirupati temple in India, generates millions yearly from the auction of hair trimmed from pilgrims.Ten year bonds could be issued to build a school or a hospital , with the repayments coming from income stream from these auctions. This is just a small revenue stream for the temple.
Perhaps the Vatican can incorporate itself and become the biggest corporate in the world. Its entire holdings of art, treasures,property and other holdings will have to be disclosed and marked to market .It will also have to publish yearly statements.It will have to clearly spell out how much is spent on charity and how much on defending priests accused of wrong doings.
This could be a model for other religious institutions such as The Golden temple, Tirupati and other places of worship.Perhaps then the money will be put to good use,rather than lying in bank accounts or invested in gold bars, diamonds, or art lying in vaults.
This is of course wishful thinking , because it will then end the battle between the state and the church, with the latter being subjected to the judiciary if wrong doings are found ,whether by priests or the lay administrators. The mystique of the church would then be removed and that of course, is not going to be allowed to happen.
For the Investment Bankers, one word of caution, make sure that these deals do well, otherwise you run the risk of excommunication or being literally consigned to hell.
TheChurch vs Mammon
http://avib-randomthoughts.blogspot.in/2012/04/chuch-vs-mammon.html
Around about the same time, news items started appearing about The Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR) or The Vatican Bank as it is commonly known, trying to clear its name of involvement in money laundering. This is not the first time that the God's bank has been under a dark cloud. In the 1980's also there were similar rumors which supposedly lead to the the death of a senior Italian banker Roberto Calvi ,who reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself from a bridge in London.
This is not a isolated incident. Religious institutions from around the world have been involved in questionable financial deals. The Bishops of Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi in Greece were implicated in a real estate scandal not too long ago.
There are numerous incidents of the Muslim Wakf Boards in India (among the largest holders of real estate in India on behalf of charity) entering into special deals with businessmen, real estate developers and politicians .According to the Tehelka magazine, in Karnataka state alone, about 20,000 acres out of a total of 54,000 acres of property owned by the Karnataka Wakf Board worth approximately forty billion dollars has been encroached upon . Even if it is one-tenth the estimated amount, it is quite substantial. These are not isolated incidents. In almost every religion , there have been such scandals.
All this is not surprising.Religious institutions are among the largest holders of real estate and other forms of wealth, gold, precious stones or art, in almost every single country.This results from either purchases or gifts received from the state or by donors over the centuries.The latest Economist magazine reports of efforts underway to compensate the church in the Czech Republic for properties sized when the communists came to power in 1948. Prior to that the church was the largest holder of real estate in the country.
As countries develop and prosper, the value of these properties appreciate.You will have conniving administrators working closely with businessmen and politicians, to find a way to dislodge the ownership, especially since historical records of these properties tend to be fuzzy.
The Putuo shrine has now opened the door for the religious institutions to become more transparent and maybe create liquidity in the market place.Considering the daily income received by the temples, mosques, churches, some creative investment bankers can perhaps securitize these income streams. The Tirupati temple in India, generates millions yearly from the auction of hair trimmed from pilgrims.Ten year bonds could be issued to build a school or a hospital , with the repayments coming from income stream from these auctions. This is just a small revenue stream for the temple.
Perhaps the Vatican can incorporate itself and become the biggest corporate in the world. Its entire holdings of art, treasures,property and other holdings will have to be disclosed and marked to market .It will also have to publish yearly statements.It will have to clearly spell out how much is spent on charity and how much on defending priests accused of wrong doings.
This could be a model for other religious institutions such as The Golden temple, Tirupati and other places of worship.Perhaps then the money will be put to good use,rather than lying in bank accounts or invested in gold bars, diamonds, or art lying in vaults.
This is of course wishful thinking , because it will then end the battle between the state and the church, with the latter being subjected to the judiciary if wrong doings are found ,whether by priests or the lay administrators. The mystique of the church would then be removed and that of course, is not going to be allowed to happen.
For the Investment Bankers, one word of caution, make sure that these deals do well, otherwise you run the risk of excommunication or being literally consigned to hell.
TheChurch vs Mammon
http://avib-randomthoughts.blogspot.in/2012/04/chuch-vs-mammon.html
Great thoughts and post Avi, imagine the Vatican or others opening their books for audit?? I guess Putuo is taking a bold and smart step! Warm regards.
ReplyDelete