Pope Francis laments that some of the "friends" chosen to give financial advice haven't been saints.
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Pope Francis is hopeful that the Vatican is on firmer ground to avoid financial wrongdoing, such as, for example, the ongoing “London building” saga, which has a cardinal on trial.
The Pope told Reuters on July 2 that he hopes better controls are in place.
“Before, the administration (of Vatican money) was very messy,” the Holy Father admitted in the interview, which has been released progressively over the last few days.
He said professionals are now in place who shouldn’t be led astray by supposed benefactors or friends.
Cardinal Angelo Becciu, for example, has characterized his defense as basically being led astray by supposed experts.
Pope Francis acknowledged that priests without financial experience have been asked to manage departments and thus seek advice from friends.
“But sometimes the friends were not the Blessed Imelda,” the Pope joked. “And so what happened, happened.”
The Pope said the structures needed to change, and he praised Cardinal George Pell for being a “genius” who insisted that the Vatican needed a structure that would control money flow and guard against corruption.
Establishing such an office has been part of the Pope’s efforts to reform the Curia.
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