VATICAN CITY
BD Live
BY RACHEL SANDERSON, SEPTEMBER 09 2015
THE office of René Bruelhart, the Vatican’s chief antimoney-laundering cop, is in an ochre building within the Vatican walls and overlooking a quiet park near St Peter’s Basilica.
On a sunny day, the calm scene is unexpected after the swell of tourists and pilgrims beyond the confines of the world’s smallest city state. More surprising is that his neighbour in the modest residence next door is Pope Francis.
In one of the first acts of his papacy, the Argentine pontiff chose to give up the usual papal residence for a sparse dormitory usually used by travelling clergy. Security has been stepped up after the move, with a greater presence of Swiss Guards, the traditional gatekeepers of the papal state.
But how has Bruelhart’s job altered since the arrival of Pope Francis in early 2013? The 43-year-old Swiss lawyer’s face brightens. “(The job) has changed tremendously; I really find open doors,” he says.
“I’ve just come back from the US, and politicians, people from the private sector, really top level, are saying: ‘If I can help, I am happy to help’.”
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