Monday, February 24, 2014

Philip Pullella — Pope revolutionizes Vatican by opening finances to scrutiny

Pope Francis on Monday revolutionized the Vatican's scandal-plagued finances, inviting outside experts into a world often seen as murky and secretive and saying the church must use its wealth to help the poor.

Francis, elected nearly a year ago with a mandate for reform, used a document known as a Motu Proprio - Latin for "by his own initiative" - to implement immediate changes including appointing an auditor-general.

The document says the Church must see its possessions and financial assets in the "light of its mission to evangelize, with particular concern for the most needy".

A new Secretariat for the Economy will report directly to the pope and will be headed by Australian Cardinal George Pell, 72, currently the Archbishop of Sydney and a key proponent of financial transparency in a committee that advised the pope. A Church source said Pell would move to Rome.
Reuters
Pope revolutionizes Vatican by opening finances to scrutiny
Philip Pullella

2 comments:

Matt Franko said...

this Pell is the guy who Dawkins got to reveal that he thinks humans were descended from Neanderthals here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4oMfY7q-Uo

rsp,

Tom Hickey said...

Well, part right. Some recent research shows that not only do some modern humans, generally northern peoples, have Neanderthal genes but also that these genes are a source of hereditary disease-bias. On the good side they make for hardiness and resistance to extreme cold.