Pope imposes financial oversight for saints after abuses

Pope Francis (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has imposed new financial accountability regulations on the process for making saints after gross abuses were revealed.

Francis issued norms Thursday that require external vigilance over the Vatican bank accounts created for canonization causes as well as regular budgeting and accounting to make sure donations are being used correctly.

The reforms come after two blockbuster books based on confidential Vatican documents revealed that the Vatican’s saint-making machine brought in hundreds of thousands of euros for each saintly candidate but had virtually no financial oversight.

The books estimated the average cost for each beatification cause at around 500,000 euros ($550,000). TVJ