Pope touts reform; first bank report

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Tuesday pledged to modernize the Catholic Church, while a panel of eight cardinals started discussing reforms and the Vatican’s scandal-tainted bank published its firstever annual report.

“We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace,” the pontiff told the La Repubblica newspaper.

Speaking to La Repubblica’s founder, Eugenio Scalfari — who last month published a letter from the pope in which he was told that God’s mercy applied to nonbelievers like him — Francis said he wanted to revive the reform-oriented spirit of the Second Vatican Council.

“The Council Fathers knew that being open to modern culture meant religious ecumenism and dialogue with nonbelievers. But afterwards very little was done in that direction. I have the humility and ambition to want to do something,” the pope said.

He said the Curia, the Church’s governing body, was too inward looking. “This Vatican-centric vision neglects the world around us. I do not share this vision and I will do my utmost to change it.”

Francis was elected in March, after the Catholic Church had been rocked by the resignation of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, and following a string of financial and sexual abuse scandals.

On Tuesday, eight cardinals he appointed in April started discussing how Vatican governance can be improved.

The Institute for Religious Works, or IOR, as the Vatican bank is known, is at the center of reform efforts. The secretive institution has long been dogged by allegations it is a haven for money launderers and mafia-linked crooks.

In a 100-page statement published online, as part of efforts to improve transparency, it reported a profit of 86.6 million euros ($117 million) last year, more than four times the 20.3 million euros ($27.5 million) it earned in 2011.