Pope Francis confirms new statutes, independence for Vatican bank

Pope Francis confirmed new statues for the Institute for Works of Religion, underlining its relative independence from other Vatican departments.

Pope Francis confirmed new statues Monday for the Institute for Works of Religion, the Vatican’s bank.

The new regulations largely cement previous provisional reforms undertaken two years ago, reinforcing the trend of Francis doubling down on his plans to overhaul financial institutions.

The new statutes for the IOR were released March 7, along with a chi…