A Vatican official lashed out Thursday against thefts and other inappropriate uses of charitable contributions by some governments, deploring that giving has often become a "business."
Bishop Paul Josef Cordes said "such thefts are contrary to our sense of justice."
Cordes, president of Cor Unum, which coordinates Vatican charities, spoke at news conference to introduce the pope's annual message for Lent, which was dedicated this year to the theme of charity.
He pointed out dangers of administrators enriching themselves with money destined for the poor.
In one case, he said, the Catholic charity Caritas sought to realize a US$1 million project in a socialist country.
"The state was not ashamed to pocket US$650,000 for `expenses for personnel and administration,'" Cordes said. He declined to identify the country or elaborate on the project.
He denounced that "giving has become a fad" producing a "philanthropic climate (that) allows solidarity to become a business."
In his message, Pope John Paul II said the goal of charity "should not be the benefit of a privileged few, but rather the improvement of the living conditions of all."
He praised missionaries and volunteers and what he called a "praiseworthy outpouring of solidarity" in recent calamities --floods in Europe, earthquakes in Latin America and Italy, epidemics in Africa and volcanic eruptions in the Philippines.