Pope Francis studying Vatican bank reform

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has established a Pontifical Commission charged with drawing up an “exhaustive” report into the activities, structure and legal status of the Vatican’s Institute for the Works of Religion, more commonly known as the IOR.

The Commission is composed of 5 people: Cardinal Raffaele Farina, emeritus Archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives and Librarian of the Apostolic Library; Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, current President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and former Archivist and Librarian of Holy Roman Church; Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Monsignor Peter Bryan Wells, Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See; Harvard Law Professor, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life and former US Ambassador to the Holy See, Mary Ann Glendon.

Presenting the Secretariat of State communique to journalists Wednesday, the Director of the Press Office of the Holy See, Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ, explained that the Commission is to conduct inquiries and present the Holy Father with a report of their findings “in view of possible reform,” specifying that Commission is not permanent. “The Pope,” said Fr. Lombardi, “has set for himself the objective of reforming the Vatican bank [sic] to make it more responsive to the needs of the Church,” and, “any decision about its nature will be taken after the work that this committee is to do.”