Pope Francis is seemingly putting on a new hat, an institutional one. At a time when conclusions are being drawn from the reform process started under Benedict XVI and continued by his successor, Pope Francis is counterbalancing the weight of external consultants who, one way or another, have featured prominently during the first months [...]
It seems certain that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone will remain Secretary of State until April 27. That is the day when new papal nuncio Ettore Balestrero – previously Undersecretary for Relations with States, heading to the important nunciature of Colombia– will be ordained bishops. In the past, the Pope himself would conduct these ordinations [...]
In order to understand the path the Holy See began and is staying on to achieve full -international financial transparency, one should look beyond the seven negative ratings (out of 16 core and key recommendations to combat money laundering) and beyond the 23 negative ratings on the general recommendations (out of 45, [...]
Strasbourg locuta, causa finita? (Strasbourg has spoken, the case is closed?). This expression is taken from Saint Augustine’s «Roma locuta, causa finita». In Saint Augustine’s times, two councils of African bishops had requested Rome (the Apostolic See) to concur with their conclusion on a particular matter, and Rome had replied in two reports (rescripts [...]
Just when the Vatican Secretary of State seems to be the only mark for a series of attacks, two news show that the Holy See is making important steps toward a reform intended to bring the Vatican City State to be a fully modern State with full financial transparency. The steps are [...]
One year ago – it was the 30th of December 2010 – the publication of the Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio for the prevention and countering of illegal activities in the area of monetary and financial dealings was considered one of the most important news. The Motu Proprio extended to the Holy See the [...]