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Vatican's Finance Czar Cardinal George Pell Defends Spending By His Office

Vatican's Finance Czar Defends Spending By His Office
Associated Press
Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney on November 13, 2012. The Catholic Church should not be the scapegoat in an Australian inquiry into child sex abuse, the country's most senior Catholic cleric said November 13 as he accused the press of a persistent campaign. AFP PHOTO/ROSLAN RAHMAN (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)
Sydney Archbishop Cardinal George Pell speaks to the media during a press conference in Sydney on November 13, 2012. The Catholic Church should not be the scapegoat in an Australian inquiry into child sex abuse, the country's most senior Catholic cleric said November 13 as he accused the press of a persistent campaign. AFP PHOTO/ROSLAN RAHMAN (Photo credit should read ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Francis' finance czar has defended the expenditures of his office following reports it had racked up a half-million euros ($575,000) in bills in the last six months.

Australian Cardinal George Pell's office has been insisting on a spending review elsewhere in the Vatican.

A spokesman for the Secretariat for the Economy, in a statement Saturday, said the expenses were normal for a new operation and below budget.

Italian newsweekly L'Espresso recently detailed opposition within the Vatican to his financial reforms, and cited receipts for expenditures including the salary and housing costs for his Australian aide and clerical tailor's bill for more than 2,500 euros ($2,800).

The leaks were apparently aimed at discrediting Pell, who has ruffled feathers in entrenched Vatican bureaucracy.

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