“Some recent events have been a real testing bench for greater transparency in the Church,” Lombardi said, mentioning paedophilia as a primary example and recalling the scandal which broke out in 2010, the pressure of the international mass media and the efforts of the Vatican Press Office to provide “unbiased information” in relation to the Holy See’s responses (the Pope’s speeches, new canonical laws, conference at the Pontifical Gregorian University).
Lombardi then spoke about financial transparency, mentioning Moneyval’s monitoring of the Vatican’s adherence to international anti-money laundering regulations, the Vatican Bank’s (IOR) actions and the Holy See’s balance sheets. “The recent visit paid by forty journalists to the IOR’s headquarters was a step in this direction,” the Vatican spokesman said.
Fr. Lombardi went on to discuss the recent nomination of U.S. journalist Greg Burke as “advisor” to the Vatican Secretariat of State, saying it was “a step in the right direction” for the mediation work being carried out by the Vatican Press Office and the “constellations” that represent the Holy See, determined by a “growing integration” that has been taking place over time.
So, “the recruitment of a communications advisor who works in the Secretariat of State on a daily basis and enhances the relationship between the Secretariat of State and the Press Office is a step in the right direction.”