The newly installed Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis has done the first move in the reformation of the ailing Vatican Bank last Saturday. He has appointed a trusted prelate to manage the financial institution as well as report to him the activities of the bank.
The Pope has named Monsignor Battista Roca as the interim prelate of the Insitute of Religious Works. This position has been vacant since 2011, as its duties include the management of the bank's activities, attendance in board meetings and be copied in on all documentation.
The prelate would report to the commission of cardinals who in turn runs the bank. WIth the appointment, Roca has a direct line to Pope Francis and be the bridge between the lay employees and board members and its commission of cardinals.
The appointment though is still interim in nature and is a sign that Pope Francis is still studying the way to reform the Vatican bureaucracy, as this is one of the priority projects that have been set forth by the cardinals that elected the former Argentine Jesuit to become the Pope after Pope Benedict XVI.
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