Pope Benedict to denounce the use of “tax havens” and offshore accounts by wealthy individuals, and Tax Evasion In encyclical?

That is what has been reported in the European Press the last few days. The rumor has been that the Pope's upcoming Enycyclical would have a social justice theme.

While I was looking for a translation of the Pope's Angelus, I noticed the Ratizinger Forum has a similar story from a Italian paper they just put up. Here is the translation of the article that appeared today in Corriere della Sera.
In new encyclical, the Pope will
reportedly denounce tax havens
and fiscal fraud
By Luigi Accattoli

VATICAN CITY - Moral condemnation of 'fiscal fraud' and 'tax havens' is supposed to be one of the items in the next encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, which will be about social doctrine and is expected to come out early next year.

But the 'indiscretions' are based on 'preparatory materials' that have been put together by various Vatican offices, and no one actually has any clue as to what the Pope intends.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, did confirm to newsmen last month during the Pope's vacation in the Dolomites that the Pope was working on 'an encyclical with a social context' and could have done so 'even during his vacation', but he added "I do not know when the encyclical will come out."

The speculation that it could come out early next year is based on the fact that this was a project initiated the day after the Pope was elected, according to Cardinal Karl Lehmann, who said in May 2005 that it was to mark the 40th anniversary of Paul VI's encyclical Populorum progressio on 'the development of nations' issued in March 2007. Since that anniversary has come and gone, Benedict's encyclical is overdue and should be coming out soon.

According to an article in Panorama magazine, quoted in the Times of London, one of the 'preparatory materials' given to the Pope is a paper on "Finance and taxes" which extends to 'tax havens' the same condemnation of 'fiscal fraud' already mentioned in Paragraph 2409 of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church.

It is therefore expected that Papa Ratzinger's second encyclical will declare it 'morally unacceptable' that wealthy citizens are able to transfer large parts of their assets to foreign banks in order to avoid paying domestic taxes.

The document could also deal with the very topical question of 'harmonizing fiscal policies' - looking to an international agreement on regulating fiscal transactions that would prevent, in an era of globalization, new injustices and discriminations brought about by traditional competition among nations for economic hegemony.

Il Corriere della sera, 12 agosto 2007.

I can already here people screaming. But the Church doesn't pay taxes balh blah blah, I suspect these are same folks that if they go to Church don't put the first dollar in the collection plate.