Vatican City, Jul 31, 2013 / 15:40 pm
The Institute for Religious Works, informally known as the Vatican Bank, has launched a new website intended to advance transparency about the institute at a time of controversy.
The institute's president, Ernst von Freyberg, said the website is intended "to tell our customers, the Church, the interested public, what we are doing, how our reform efforts are progressing, and what the scope of our work is."
"It is an important part of transparency to launch a website," he told Vatican Radio.
The Vatican Bank serves as a central financial body of the Holy See with 114 employees. It receives and administers assets for religious or charitable activities, especially those in the developing world. Its profits are at the disposal of the Pope.