Pope sets up body to fix scandal-hit Vatican finances

Pope Francis blesses the faithful on July 14, 2013 during his first Angelus prayer in front of his summer residence in Castelgandolfo, southeast of Rome. Pope Francis set up a special commission on Friday tasked with overhauling "the economic-administrative structure" of the Vatican in a long-awaited reform of the scandal-hit governing body and bank. (AFP/File)

VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Francis set up a special commission on Friday tasked with overhauling "the economic-administrative structure" of the Vatican in a long-awaited reform of the scandal-hit governing body and bank.

The commission is tasked with the "simplification and rationalisation of the existing bodies and more careful planning of the economic activities of all the Vatican Administrations," the Vatican said in a statement.