Pope Francis' Words Translate into Actions
When Pope Francis spoke about "businessists" at Mass at Santa Marta yesterday, I wonder if he was thinking about his decision to sack the entire board of the Vatican's financial watchdog? Well either way, his words weren't just words, he has acted decisively sacking the five-man board —all Italians—in a move being reported as an attempt to break with an old guard associated with a murky past. All five outgoing members were Italians who had been expected to serve five-year terms ending in 2016 and were laymen associated with the Vatican's discredited financial old guard. The Vatican said the Pope named four experts from Switzerland, Singapore, the United States and Italy to replace them on the board of the Financial Information Authority (AIF), the Holy See's internal regulatory office. The new board includes a woman for the first time. Reformers inside the Vatican had been pushing for the pope, who already has taken a series of steps to clean up Vat...