The new statute does include some minor adjustments, such as redefining some of the offices of the institute. At the same time, it leaves certain critical issues unaddressed.
The Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank. (photo: Andrea Gagliarducci/CNA / EWTN)
Pope Francis on Tuesday issued a new statute for the so-called Vatican bank (officially the Institute for Religious Works, or IOR), but in fact, it closely resembles the regulation approved more than three years ago “ad experimentum” — on an experimental basis.
Evidently, the Pope was satisfied with the results of the experiment. The intent is to align the rules of the IOR with last year’s apostolic constitution Praedicate evangelium, which regulates the functioning of the dicasteries and entities of the Curia.
The new statute does include some minor adjustments, such as redefining some of the offices of the institute. At the same time, it leaves certain critical issues unaddressed.
First, some background. The history of the IOR begins in 1942, when Pius XI erected the Institute for Works of Religion in Vatican City, absorbing into it the preexisting Administration for Works of Religion. Pius himself approved the IOR’s statute on March 17, 1941. Before the 2019 experimental statute, the IOR was regulated by a 1990 chirograph (papal letter) by Pope John Paul II.
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