For the first time in its history, Francisco imposes external criticism on the Vatican Bank

Pope Francis on Saturday published a new statute of the Institute of Religious Works (IOR), called "Vatican Bank", with which he imposed the obligation of external auditors to the accounts of the institution.

With a chirograph (papal decree) of 32 articles, the pontiff has established new guidelines on the operation, structure and skills of IOR, with a commitment to transparency and independence of its organization chart.

What were the changes

Article 26 of the new law stipulates that "the legal examination of the narratives shall be carried out by an external auditor (natural person or company), appointed by the Cardinal Commission, on the proposal of the Supervisory Board, for a period of three consecutive years. , renewable once ".

In the previous law, which was established in 1990, it was not necessary for auditors to be outside the structure of the Vatican bank.

In addition, in the new Article 27, the external examiner has the power to examine "all books and accounting documents", which was also not included in the previous statute.

With the change in the requirement of external proofreaders, Francisco's chirograph also modifies the structure of the IOR, which included until now the proofreaders and which, to this day, will only be composed of A cardinal commission, the prelate, the supervisory board and the director. .

In search of greater control, Pope Francis has extended the number of members of the Superintendency Council from five to seven, which, like the rest of the posts, lasts five years.

The IOR "is not open to the general public", is reserved for Vatican staff, non-nuns and diplomats accredited to the Holy See, in accordance with the statutes.

Search for transparency

With its motto of "transparency" in the accounts of the Vatican after years of suspicion of its financial activities, Francisco created in 2013 a commission charged with seeking greater regulation within the IOR and the economy General of the Holy See.

In this context, according to a report of the financial authority of the Holy See, in 2018, the first conviction for money laundering offense at the Vatican would have been pronounced, and the IOR would adhere to the SEPA system, which would allow him to have the IBAN code. For transactions.