The Vatican Agreement

Latest: Corruption and Money Laundering.



VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Holy See has adhered to the U.N. Convention Against Corruption, an international treaty focused on preventing, outlawing and prosecuting corruption within nations and internationally.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, deposited the ratification papers at the United Nations in New York Sept. 19, the Vatican announced Sept. 23.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican's foreign minister, wrote in the Vaticannewspaper that adopting the international agreement is a recognition thatPope Francis' constant condemnations of corruption and the damage it causes applies "not only to civil society and state governments, but also to the churchand Roman Curia."

However, he wrote, "the principal dispositions" of the U.N. agreement already are part of Vatican law thanks to legislation enacted since 2010 by both retiredPope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, particularly regarding financial transparency and the adoption of measures to prevent money laundering.

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