Pope Francis Creates Another Commission to Probe Vatican Financial Mess
Pope Francis created on Friday another commission to fix the Vatican bureaucracy. This time, the target of the eight-member committee is the Holy See's financial system. The main task of the panel is to recommend ways to reduce waste, have better transparency and address the city's administrative weaknesses.
The commission is the third that the pontiff had created four months in his term as leader of the 1.2-billion-member Roman Catholic Church. It is composed of seven lay people and a Vatican monsignor.
Included in its tasks are to recommend changes on avoiding waste of money, improve transparency in the purchase of goods and services, better administration of the Church's vast real estate holding and check that correct accounting principles are followed.
The commission will have its first meeting in the later part of July after the pope returns from the World Youth Day celebrations in Rio de Janeiro.
The first commission that Pope Francis established, made up of 8 cardinals, is tasked with helping him lead the Catholic Church and put in place wide reforms in the Vatican bureaucracy.
The second one, appointed in June, was ordered to investigate the scandal in the Vatican bank in response to the resignation of two managers while Italian magistrates are holding a widening money-laundering probe. Included in the investigation is the involvement of a Vatican monsignor implicated in the smuggling into Italy 20 million euro.
Pope Francis has led the cut in extravagant spending in the Vatican by selection a $16,000 Ford Focus instead of using the Renault, BMW and Mercedes Benz used by his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. In Brazil, he will also use an open-top 4x4 rather than the bullet-proof popemobile.
The simplicity and genuine character of Pope Francis has brought back crowds to Vatican which has boosted the sales of trinket vendors in the Holy See.