VATICAN CITY
Religion News Service
Josephine McKenna | July 9, 2014
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis’ promised reforms of the Vatican bureaucracy are starting to take shape, with new leaders appointed to oversee the troubled Vatican bank and plans to overhaul the Catholic Church’s approach to global communications.
Pope Francis on July 9, 2014, announced a number of reforms to the Vatican’s communication office and Vatican bank, including tapping Jean-Baptiste de Franssu to lead the bank as its new director.
French businessman Jean-Baptiste de Franssu on Wednesday (July 9) was named new president of the bank, formally known as the Institute for Works of Religion, replacing Ernst Von Freyberg, a German who has run the bank since February 2013.
Six new lay members, including Mary Ann Glendon, a former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See and Harvard law professor, will join the bank’s board.
Australian Cardinal George Pell, head of the Vatican’s economic secretariat, announced the latest changes, which he said are designed to improve vigilance and transparency.
“There are many challenges and much work ahead,” Pell said. “The Holy Father has made it clear these changes should move forward expeditiously.”
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