VATICAN CITY
Telegraph (UK)

The Vatican has volunteered to widen the terms under which it is assessed for financial transparency, following a critical report by European money laundering watchdog Moneyval.

By Andrew Trotman, and agencies
5:37PM BST 10 Apr 2013

The Holy See is seeking to shake off a reputation for murky finances after a year in which documents alleging corruption in its business dealings were leaked by Pope Benedict’s butler, and the head of its bank was ousted in a row over transparency.

In a July 2012 report Moneyval, a department of the Council of Europe, criticised the Holy See for non-compliance with global financial transparency norms and gave it negative grades in seven out of 16 so-called “core” and “key” recommendations.

Under Moneyval rules, the Holy See has until July 4 to comply with all “core” recommendations, for example fully establishing the source and legality of…