‘Lavish spending’ not the reason why Cardinal Tagle vacated Caritas post

Claim: Pope Francis removed Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle from his post as president of Caritas Internationalis due to the “lavish spending” of funds of the Catholic Church. 

The video with the claim says: “Ayon sa balita ay nadiskubre ang di umano ay pagwawaldas ng pera ng simbahang Katoliko kaya naman si mismong Santo Papa na ang sumipa kay Cardinal Tagle. Di man napatunayan noon pero tumpak pa rin si tatay Digong dahil ang Vatican na mismo ang nakadiskubre at nag-imbestiga sa di makataong galawan ni Cardinal Tagle. Dahil dito si Pope Francis na mismo ang nagdesisyon na sipain bilang opisyal si Tagle sa Caritas.”

(According to the news, the alleged lavish spending of Catholic Church funds was discovered. That is why it was the Holy Father himself who removed Cardinal Tagle. Tatay Digong may not have been able to prove it, but he was still right, because it was the Vatican itself that discovered and investigated the inhumane acts of Cardinal Tagle. Because of this, Pope Francis himself decided to remove Cardinal Tagle as an official of Caritas.)

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The post containing the claim has 376,000 views, 2,300 comments, 14,000 reactions, and 4,200 shares, as of writing.

The facts: According to the decree issued by the Vatican, Tagle and other officers of Caritas Internationalis were replaced as part of efforts “to revise the statues and the regulations” of the organization.

It was Tagle himself who read the Vatican decree regarding Caritas.

No financial mismanagement issues: A statement released by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) said financial matters of the organization have been handled well and fundraising goals were regularly achieved. Caritas is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations under the DPIHD. 

The statement also said that “no evidence emerged of financial mismanagement or sexual impropriety,” but that “real deficiencies were noted in management and procedures, seriously prejudicing team-spirit and staff morale.”

Along with Cardinal Tagle, other high-ranking officials of the organizations – vice presidents, secretary-general, treasurer, and the ecclesiastical assistant – ceased holding their respective offices.

“If there is truth in the report that Pope had fired Cardinal Tagle because of mismanagement of Caritas Internationalis, then I would wonder why he should keep him as head of an even bigger office than Caritas – namely the Vatican Dicastery on the Evangelization of Peoples (better known as Propaganda Fide),” wrote Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, in a Facebook post.

“And if people had bothered to read the Vatican communiqué well,” David said, “they would have noted that Cardinal Tagle has in fact been assigned by the Pope to continue to serve Caritas as liaison between the international organization and the local Churches until May 2023. So, where on earth did they get the term ‘sacked’?” – Ailla Dela Cruz/Rappler.com

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