Pope Leo Pangkas Of The Authority Of The Vatican Bank, Cancels Francis Reform

Pope Leo XIV/DOK PHOTO via Instagram @pontifex

JAKARTA - Pope Leo revoked the sole authority of the Vatican bank over the investments held by these cities on Monday, as well as canceled one of the financial reforms initiated by his predecessor, Francis.

In a brief decree, Pope Leo said the Vatican bank, officially known as the Institute for the Works of Religion will no longer control all investments made by Vatican departments, as mandated by Francis in 2022.

The decision gave the Vatican department the freedom to use foreign banks.

Pope Leo canceled Fransiskus' previous mandate, but said the departments should continue to use the Vatican bank.

"Unless authorized agencies consider it more efficient or convenient to use financial intermediaries established in other countries," Pope Leo said.

Vatican financial reputation has been tarnished in recent decades by its opaque finances and corruption cases, embezzlement, and other crimes. Francis, who led the Church for 12 years, imposed a series of reforms to address the issue.

Pope Leo's decree simply canceled one of these reforms, which mandates that all investments be handled by the Vatican bank.

Several officials have complained since the 2022 reform that Francis' move has given the bank too much power over other Vatican departments, which cannot even invest in banks in Italy.

The new decision mandates Vatican departments to continue to follow Vatican investment policies, drawn up by the supervisory committee formed by Francis in 2022.