VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -
Pope Francis has brought in international experts to help him overhaul the Holy
See and move on from a series of scandals under his predecessor Benedict XVI.
Urged on by the
cardinals who elected him four months ago, Francis set up a commission on
Friday to help him reform the Vatican's administration and finances.
Made up of seven
international lay experts and one cleric, the commission will report directly
to the pope and advise him on economic affairs, improving transparency and
enforcing accounting principles.
Its members will have
the right to examine any paper and digital document in the Vatican.
Francis inherited a
Church struggling to deal with priests' sexual abuse of children, alleged
corruption and infighting in the central administration and conflict over the
running of the Vatican's scandal-ridden bank.
Benedict left a secret
report for Francis on the problems in the administration, which came to light
when sensitive documents were stolen from the pope's desk and leaked by his
butler in what became known as the "Vatileaks" scandal.
The documents accused
Vatican insiders of corrupt dealings, including the award of contracts to
outside companies at inflated prices.
The new commission's lay
members are experts in economics, finance, management and law and come from
Spain, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Malta and France, the Vatican said in a
statement. The cleric will act as the commission's secretary.
It will draft reforms of
the Holy See's institutions to simplify how they work and improve the way they
manage their finances.
They will advise Vatican
departments and find ways to "avoid the misuse of economic resources, to
improve transparency in the processes of purchasing goods and services",
the statement said.
BROAD POWERS
Francis ordered all
Vatican departments to collaborate with the commission and bypass usual rules
that oblige officials to respect the secrecy of their office.
In reporting directly to
the pope, the commission, which Francis set up with a personal decree known as
a "chirografo", will bypass the Vatican's Secretariat of State, its
chief administrative office which itself has been hit by allegations of scandal
and corruption.
The new commission was
Francis' third bold move to reform badly tarnished Vatican institutions.
One month after his
election, he set up an advisory board of cardinals from around the world to
help him govern the Catholic Church and reform its administration.
Last month, in an
attempt to get to grips with an institution that has embarrassed the Catholic
Church for decades, he set up a special commission of inquiry to reform the
scandal-plagued Vatican bank.
The new commission will coordinate its work with
the advisory board of cardinals and hold its first meeting after Francis
returns to Rome after his July 22-29 trip to Brazil.
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