U.S. dioceses are crying foul over an investigative report on coronavirus relief funding they say grossly mischaracterized the Catholic Church’s finances and unrestricted cash flows, leaving the impression the Church used the 2020 CARES Act to hoard cash.

ROME -- While questions remain about dubious financial dealings in the past and about future uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vatican's steady move toward financial transparency is on the right track, said Cardinal George Pell, former prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy.

VATICAN CITY – Four months after announcing it had hired the firm PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct an external audit of its finances, the Vatican has suspended the work underway.