Thursday, June 27, 2013

New commission to oversee Vatican Bank

Yesterday, the Holy Father established an Appointed Pontifical Commission which will oversee the work of the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), otherwise known as the Vatican Bank.

The official notification, known as a Chirograph, was published yesterday, as a result of the Holy Father's desire to learn more about the legal position and the activities of the IOR in order to better facilitate the harmonization of these realities with the mission of the universal Church and the Apostolic See, in the broader context of necessary reforms that are needed for all institutions which provide aid to the Apostolic See.

The Commission's responsibility is to collect necessary information and to present it to the Holy Father. The Chirograph specifies that during the period when the Commission will be at work, the IOR will continue to operate in accordance with the provisions of the Chirograph dated 1990 which continues in force, unless otherwise authorized by the Holy Father.

The purposes and powers of the Commission are also outlined in more detail within the Chirograph published yesterday.

The members of the Appointed Pontifical Commission are His Eminence, Rafael Cardinal Farina (President); His Eminence, Jean-Louis Pierre Cardinal Tauran (Member); His Excellency, Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru (Coordinator); Monsignor Peter Bryan Wells (Secretary); and Professor Mary Ann Glendon (Member).

The Holy Father hopes that the collaboration between the Commission and the Institute, which will begin in the coming days, will be happy and productive.


Chirograph published by the Holy Father, Pope Francis
establishing the Appointed Pontifical Commission
for the oversight of the IOR

With the Chirograph dated March 1, 1990, Blessed John Paul II established the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR), providing for it a public juridical personality, thus giving it a new configuration while preserving its name and purpose.  In this same perspective, taking into account the fact that he wanted to better adapt the structures and activities of the Institute to the needs of the times, as requested by our predecessor Pope Benedict XVI, to allow the gospel to permeate the activities of economic and financial nature; having heard the opinion of several Cardinals and other brothers in the Episcopate, as well as that of other collaborators, and in light of the need to introduce reforms in the institutions that provide aid to the Apostolic See, we have decided to establish a Commission appointed to the Institute for the Works of Religion that will collect accurate information pertaining to the legal position and the various activities of the Institute in order to allow, if necessary, for a better harmonization of the Institute with the universal mission of the Apostolic See.  The Commission will carry out its duties subject to this Chirograph and our operational arrangements.

1. The Commission shall consist of a minimum of five members including a Chairman who is the legal representative, a Coordinator who has powers of ordinary and delegated acts in the name and on behalf of the Commission in the collection of documents, data and information as well as a Secretary who assists members and keeps track of the Acts of the Commission.

2. The Commission has powers and faculties suitable for the performance of its official duties within the limits established by this Chirograph and the rules of law. The Commission collects documents, data and information necessary for the performance of its official duties. The secrecy and any other restrictions laid down by legal requirement does not inhibit or restrict access to the Commission's documents, data and information, subject to the rules that protect the autonomy and independence of the Authority engaged in supervision and regulation of the Institute, which shall remain in force.

3. The Commission shall have the human and material resources appropriate to its institutional functions. If it should deem it useful, it may make use of contractors and consultants.

4. The government of the Institute continues to operate under this Chirograph while it is in effect, unless otherwise provided for by us or by our successors.

5. The Commission has at its disposition the willing cooperation of the Bodies of the Institute, and its entire staff. In addition, the Superiors, Members and officials of the Roman Curia and other agencies related to it, as well as the Vatican City State, will also cooperate with the Commission. The Commission also uses the services of other parties, either spontaneously or by request.

6. The Commission will keep us informed of its activities during the course of its work.

7. The Commission will deliver the the results of its work, as well as its entire archive, in a timely manner once its appointed tasks have been accomplished.

8. The activities of the Commission begin on the date of this Chirograph.

9. The dissolution of the Commission will be announced.

Given at the Vatican June 24, 2013, the first year of my Pontificate.
Francis

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