Pope’s advisory council: embroiled and embattled

Pope Francis was elected partly to clean up a perceived governance mess in the Vatican, and shortly afterwards he created a new body to advise him on reform – a council of cardinal advisers from around the world. Many observers would say the results have been a bit underwhelming – the creation of three new financial oversight structures that currently seem adrift or toothless, an overhaul of the Vatican communications operation that recently presided over the “letter gate” fiasco, and, in general, a fairly widespread sense of confusion about what exactly this “reform” is supposed to be or where it’s going.

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