VATICAN CITY
The Tablet (UK)
03 March 2015 by James Roberts
Pope Francis on Tuesday issued a motu proprio that formally accords Australian Cardinal George Pell oversight of the Vatican’s financial activities, and sets up a new and powerful office of auditor-general.
Today’s decree consolidates the financial reforms Francis initiated a year ago when he established the Secretariat for the Economy under Cardinal Pell and the Council for the Economy under German Cardinal Reinhard Marx.
As head of the Secretariat for the Economy, Cardinal Pell has the power to issue executive decrees to all Vatican departments regarding their procedures, ensuring that their operations are carried out “efficiently” and “in compliance with the approved budgets”, the decree states.
The norms of the motu proprio state that Pell will oversee the creation of a centralised budget for the whole of the Vatican, showing income and expenditure for each curial office.
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