Financial Transparency Coalition

No one is perfect. That’s why it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that early this morning Italian authorities seized $30.18 million from a Vatican bank account for possible ties to money laundering. It should also not come as a surprise to you that the Vatican bank’s chairman and director general are now under investigation for failure to meet Italy’s anti-money laundering laws. Surprised anyway? You shouldn’t be. Here’s why. In the morning of June 21st, 1982 in London, a postal clerk on his way to work was crossing the Blackfriars Bridge when he noticed a...

In a detailed critique of modern social, economic and environmental problems, delivered on the eve of a summit of the G8 leaders in Italy, Pope Benedict XVI warned that globalisation risked triggering a worldwide crisis.