VATICAN CITY
The Guardian (UK)
Australia’s Cardinal George Pell has made the first significant move in Pope Francis’s drive to clean up the Vatican’s finances, issuing a financial management manual to church officials.
The rule book, which will be binding on all members of the Vatican bureaucracy from 1 January, is part of Pell’s work to bring the church’s financial management into line with international accounting standards.
The manual was sent to all Vatican departments this week by the secretariat for the economy, a special unit set up earlier this year, according to an internal cover letter seen by Reuters.
The letter said the manual contained guidelines “that are an essential first step in the reforms of the economic and administrative practices of the Holy See, being requested by the Holy Father”.
All departments will have to enact “sound and efficient financial management policies” and prepare financial information and reports in a “consistent and transparent manner” that adheres to international accounting standards.
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