VATICAN CITY – The Institute for the Works of Religion, often referred to as the Vatican bank, made a profit of 36 million euros (about $53 million) in 2016, according to its annual report.

VATICAN CITY – While the trial of five people accused of leaking confidential Vatican financial documents captured headlines in 2016, the Vatican City court also continued investigating possible financial crimes, freezing more than $2.1 million in assets deposited at the Vatican bank.

VATICAN CITY – Individuals and entities that have accounts at the Vatican bank and are subject to taxation in Italy will have until mid-April to report to Italian authorities the income earned by their Vatican accounts.

VATICAN CITY – Two members of the Vatican bank's board of supervisors handed in their resignation over a difference in opinion concerning the bank's management.

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican's financial watchdog agency reported a huge jump in the number of financial transactions flagged as "suspicious" and in the value of assets it has blocked or frozen.
During 2015, the Financial Intelligence Authority "received 544 reports of suspicious activities — almost three times as many as 2014," it said in its annual report, released April 28.

VATICAN CITY - One reason the cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel elected Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis two years ago was a brief but powerful speech the Argentine cardinal made shortly before the conclave in which he denounced the “theological narcissism” of the Roman Catholic Church.

VATICAN CITY - New rules governing the guidance, oversight and control of Vatican financial and administrative activities include the power to levy sanctions and take "civil or criminal action" in cases of "damage to assets," as well as providing protection for whistleblowers raising red flags about "anomalous activity."

VATICAN CITY - In a powerful homily that signalled his desire to push ahead with historic reforms, Pope Francis on Sunday (Feb. 15) said the Roman Catholic Church must be open and welcoming, whatever the costs.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis called for a Vatican that operates with “absolute transparency” as he gathered more than 165 cardinals in Rome for high-level meetings aimed at tackling one of the toughest challenges of his reformist papacy: overhauling the dysfunctional bureaucracy of the Roman Curia.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis began what could be a key week for his reformist papacy Feb. 9, starting with meetings with his hand-picked kitchen cabinet of nine senior cardinals who are developing plans to overhaul the Roman Curia, the papal civil service that has been plagued with crisis and dysfunction.

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican City prosecutor has opened an investigation into possible embezzlement by two former top officials at the Institute for the Works of Religion, more commonly called the Vatican bank.

VATICAN CITY - In what the Vatican bank described as recognition that it has established serious measures to prevent money laundering, it announced the Italian government has promised to return 23 million euros (U.S. $29 million) that had been blocked for more than three years.

VATICAN CITY - As the restructuring of Vatican financial institutions moves into high gear, "our ambition is to become something of a model of financial management rather than a cause for occasional scandal," said Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy.

VATICAN CITY - Preparing for big changes in its governance and structure, the Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican bank, published its 2013 financial statement, reporting a nose dive in net profit.