MALTA
Malta Today

Jurgen Balzan 17 November 2015

Maltese economist Joe FX Zahra inadvertently found himself in the eye of a storm which has engulfed the Vatican and seen a Spanish priest associated with Opus Dei and a PR expert arrested after being accused of leaking sensitive information.

Two new books have embarrassed the Vatican with reports of mismanagement and greed, such as sainthood causes that can cost €500,000 and one monsignor allegedly breaking down the wall of his next-door neighbor – a sick, elderly priest – to expand his already palatial apartment.

Pope Francis has made a top priority the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy known as the Curia and one of his most trusted aides is Zahra, one of five members on the International Audit Committee of the Holy See. Francis appointed Zahra as president of a new Pontifical Commission for the Reference on the Economy and…