In bold move, Pope names panel to reform Vatican bank

[Beacool]

Source: Chicago Tribune

Philip Pullella
Reuters
June 26, 2013

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis set up a special commission of inquiry on Wednesday to reform the Vatican bank, his boldest move yet to get to grips with an institution that has embarrassed the Catholic Church for decades.

The high-powered, five-member panel, which includes four prelates and a female Harvard law professor, will report directly to him, bypassing the Vatican bureaucracy that itself has sometimes been hit by allegations of scandal and corruption.

The Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), as the bank is formally known, has long been tarnished by accusations that it has failed to meet international transparency standards intended to combat money laundering and tax evasion.

The Vatican said the commission, which Francis set up with a personal decree known as a "chirografo," would enable him "to know better the juridical position and the activities of the Institute to allow an improved harmonization with the mission of the universal Church".



Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/sns-rt-us-pope-bankbre95p0jv-20130626,0,46007.story

---

Good, it's about time that they scrutinize the bank's activities.

[onehandle]

1. Vatican - 1 / Washington - 0 nt

[monmouth3]

2. After the Pope is finished in Rome he can then come over here. Bank of America and Chase would be

good starts....

[Beacool]

7. Chase first.

I despise those bastards with a passion.

[Zoeisright]

3. Sorry, still hate him.

He's a misogynistic homophobe. Until he changes those stances, he's persona non grata.

[forestpath]

11. +1

[No Vested Interest]

20. Hate is unhealthy. nt

[forestpath]

21. Romanticizing the head of one of the world's most homophobic

organizations - on the day DOMA is struck down no less - is what's sick.

[JNelson6563]

27. "Romanticizing"??

I think he's simply being given credit for doing something right. It's been a long time since we heard of any such thing from the Vatican. I should think that is not only newsworthy but worthy of approval as well.

Julie

[Pelican]

29. Lovely for you...

I'm sure he is heartbroken...

[4Q2u2]

4. Pope John Paul

Did not the first John Paul propose this as one of his goals. He did not last very long.

[Beacool]

6. Don't jinx him.

I hope that he has a very long life. I like this Pope.

[Xyzse]

34. Me too... He has faults but...

He has taken quite a few positive steps that I didn't think would happen any time soon.

So I absolutely prefer this pope to his recent predecessors.

[truebrit71]

8. My thoughts exactly...

I wouldn't be surprised to see something not unlike the roof scene in The Shawshank Redemption, 'Step aside, this fucker's about to have himself an accident' if he keeps this up...

And understand, I am no fan of the man, or his employer, but he's been doing and saying some stuff I don't think the other cult members thought they'd ever hear..

[starroute]

15. Don't write this one's obituary yet

John Paul I, from anything I've read, allowed himself to be isolated in the Vatican, surrounded by people who did not have his interests at heart and without anyone to guard his back.

Francis has deliberately stayed out of the Vatican and has remained where he has home field advantage.

He's also a Jesuit -- and they're tough and ruthless and often give indications that they believe they know what's good for the Church better than the official hierarchy does..

The real mystery is how he ever got elected and what kind of pressure was placed on Benedict to step aside. But whatever forces made that possible aren't just going to step back into the shadows and let him be offed prematurely. The wheels are turning and stuff is going to happen.

[JDPriestly]

19. I've been wondering this myself:

"The real mystery is how he ever got elected and what kind of pressure was placed on Benedict to step aside. But whatever forces made that possible aren't just going to step back into the shadows and let him be offed prematurely. The wheels are turning and stuff is going to happen. "

I read a book about the conspiracy theory on the death of Pope John Paul I. The Vatican Bank was in the center of that Banco Ambrosiano scandal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banco_Ambrosiano

The Banco Ambrosiano and the Vatican Bank were involved in the BCCI scandal.

The Sandstorm Report
This is the report of an official investigation into the BCCI affair that the British government refused to publish. Along with other material on BCCI, the Sandstone Report is made available on the web site of AABA, the Association for Accountancy & Business Affairs.

BCCI Liquidators Sue Sheikh for £289m
Liquidators are suing the Sheikh of Sharjah for a debt they claim he owes the failed bank. The Guardian Wednesday August 11, 1999.

Key Player in BCCI Fraud Loses Appeal
History's biggest convicted commercial fraudster, Abbas Gokal, lost his appeal against his April 1997 conviction on charges involving £750 million. Friday March 12, 1999.

Accountants in BCCI Net
The role of accountants Price Waterhouse in auditing for four years the books of scandal-hit Bank of Credit and Commerce International is under investigation.

http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/RDavies/arian/scandals/classic.html

And John Kerry knows a lot about BCCI. I would consider him to be an expert on it, but what do I know.

[Octafish]

35. DU 2004 addressed the special, enduring and criminal relationship between profit, power & privilege.

[font color="blue"]Nguyen Hand Bank, the P-2 lodge and Banco Ambrosiano, BCCI, the S&L "failures" and more: the thread through all the scandals is the hand-in-glove financial relationship of Intelligence Agencies, organized crime and terrorist proxies. As one financial corruption is exposed, another begins, and the players remain the same, as do the crimes: money-laundering, drug-smuggling, assassination and staged terrorist acts.[/font color]

More: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2118878

[Ash_F]

28. It's not that much of a mystery

"The real mystery is how he ever got elected and what kind of pressure was placed on Benedict to step aside."

The progressive left has been steadily making gains in South America for a couple decades at least. The pressure is there.

[Katashi_itto]

30. Exactly, my University was Jesuit. They get things done.

Your right, he is staying out of the Vatican surrounded by his own people. He is being careful.

[Javaman]

5. this will be interesting to watch...

the vatican bank is probably one of the most corrupt institutions in the church.

with the pope by passing the usual red tape, a lot of people are going to get very mad and desperate.

cough cough mafia cough cough.

[Beacool]

24. I hope not.

I hope that the "famiglia" keeps its mitts off this Pope.

[Ken Burch]

9. Here's the real question, though...when do we get Vatican Bank ATM's?

And what fees will they charge?

[happyslug]

10. The Woman is a Good pro-life Republican as while as a Harvard Law Professor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Ann_Glendon

If you expected anything else, you were dreaming. On the other hand I have NOT seen anything that says she is incompetent.

As a lawyer and an Accountant I do make the following comments

1. Lawyers as a groups do not do math well. If they could add 2 plus 2, they would have become engineers. Thus appointing a Lawyer to a Committee to investigate a bank in my opinion not a good sign. On the other hand , that she is a pro-life Catholic is a best a minor concern as to the Vatican Bank.

2. Cardiinal Raffaele Farina is a theologian (he is a Cardinal) and a Historian:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffaele_Farina

3. Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran is a diplomat:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Louis_Tauran

4. Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, he is a Canon Lawyer
http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/baoc.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Ignacio_Arrieta_Ochoa_de_Chinchetru

5. Monsignor Peter Brian Wells, is the youngest of the group, another Canon Lawyer and Diplomat, but has some experence handling accounts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Brian_Wells

You have a group of people who are use to dealing with people, Lawyers and Diplomats, but not people use to dealing with numbers.

[JDPriestly]

18. Good points.

Although some lawyers were good at math before they became lawyers. Some were even accountants. So, just a little caveat on your generalization.

And I know one lawyer who was great at math until she became a lawyer and stopped using her math on a daily basis. Sad story, huh?

[Beacool]

23. Let's not conflate issues.

Her job is to investigate and report on the workings of the bank. Her pro-life stance is not an issue for the job that she was hired to do.

[Hayabusa]

12. Goodbye, Pope Francis. :(

[Berlum]

13. Yay Papa !

Watch your back, Franny -- the Vatican has a huge cabal of entities with deranged Republican Family Values ,CorruptCatholic Style

[Fearless]

14. Not really bold unless they do something useful.

[JDPriestly]

17. This is good news. I hope this Pope survives.

The last one believed to have determined to reform the Vatican Bank died soon after becoming pope. That was Pope John Paul I.

As far as I know the following is a conspiracy theory, but an interesting one. It may have been sheer coincidence that Pope John Paul I died of a heart attack soon after deciding to investigate and reorganize the Vatican Bank.

I know conspiracy theories are not allowed on DU in this forum, however, I am not saying we should believe this one. Rather I am warning that it may be merely a bogus conspiracy theory, but that it exists demonstrates what a big problem the bank has posed for the reputation of the Vatican.

http://www.big3news.net/2012/03/04/british-author-claims-honest-reforming-pope-john-paul-i-murdered-in-1978-for-beliefs-on-vatican-wealth-artificial-birth-control/

[Beacool]

22. I don't think that anyone killed John Paul I.

Last edited Thu Jun 27, 2013, 12:46 AM - Edit history (1)

People do get heart attacks, even at a younger age. I like that this Pope is not living at the Vatican apts. He's where there are plenty of people. Good to know. Just in case..........

[JDPriestly]

25. Probably right. I thought the theory was a bit farfetched,

but the intrigue and wrongdoing by individuals who had been trusted with involvement in the Vatican Bank at the time was horrifying. That is the part of the book that I read that I found very credible and informative.

Remember. Our Secretary of State John Kerry held hearings on BCCI and is more or less an expert on that topic. It may be simply a coincidence that the Pope Benedict retired around the time that Kerry became Secretary of State, but I will wonder about that accident in timing.

The problem is that the Vatican is an independent state, a sovereign state, so very dubious individuals were using the Vatican bank to hide facts about their transactions, where and how much money was going in and coming out. Investments and transfers of money were made that were very troubling. If you remember one of Carter's aides was involved in one of the many related scandals. Rumor has it that money flowed to Solidarity in Poland and to other projects in which the US wanted to meddle. Money is rumored to have gone to Chile in order to buy weapons. Who knows what really happened? Certainly not me. But the Bank needs a lot of supervision because it has a lot of independence and can hide a lot of information that other banks have to reveal because they are more or less regulated.

[starroute]

31. A less conspiratorial version is that he was neglected, not murdered

I don't know where I read it, but the premise was that he was showing signs of stress and/or ill health even before the fatal heart attack, but that he was surrounded by people who either didn't care or may have subconsciously wanted him out of the way.

Either way, people who threaten the interests of the wealthy and powerful do show an unusual tendency to encounter fatal accidents or illnesses, so it's encouraging if Francis is taking precautions.

[Beacool]

32. I didn't know that.

I'm glad that this Pope doesn't want to be isolated from regular people. Although I think that he's doing it because that's just his personality, not because he fears for his safety.

[starroute]

36. Here's the story from March

http://www.womenofgrace.com/blog/?p=20285

Pope Francis’ humility is once again making headlines as he continues to live in a modest apartment in the Domus Sanctae Marthae rather than the opulent papal apartment on the top floor of the Apostolic Palace.

The Vatican Insider is reporting that when Pope Francis visited the papal apartments used by his predecessors, he looked at the lavish digs and said, “Here there is room for 300 people!” He is said to have asked to live “with simplicity and with sharing” while portions of the Apostolic Palace are undergoing renovations and seems content to stay in the guest house where he can eat his meals in the common dining room and walk to his appointments at the Vatican.

He has also decided to replace the papal throne in Clementine Hall, which is used by Popes to receive delegates of other denominations, with a simple chair.According to John Thavis, he asked Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi if the Francis had decided where to live. “Let’s wait and see,” he was told.

Thavis reports that the Vatican talked about the need for some renovation work before the pope moved into the Apostolic Palace, “but the apartment received an extensive makeover in 2005 after Pope Benedict’s election, and it’s hard to believe Pope Francis would want to spend more money on redecorating,” he writes.

[Beacool]

38. I meant the part about John Paul I.

I didn't know that his health had been neglected. I should have been more clear.

[JNelson6563]

26. This Pope is serious.

Walking the walk and everything. How refreshing. I hope he lives long enough to carry out the changes he seems to be trying to make.

Julie

[bklyncowgirl]

33. Good. I'm actually impressed that there's a woman on the panel.

Yeah she's apparently someone very much on the conservative side but the fact that there's a lay person, much less a woman, is interesting.

This should get interesting.

As an estranged Catholic I do hope that Pope Francis continues to clean up the reputation of the church of my childhood. Next up--child molesters and more importantly those who harbor them.

[hughee99]

37. Now he's in trouble...

He can declare whatever he wants about who can get into heaven, who can be a priest or even who can marry, but he's not going to last long if he wants to see the books.

I wonder what the next pope will be like.