Marrying a colleague is now a sackable offence at Vatican bank | CPT PPP Coverage

Cryptopolytech (CPT) Public Press Pass (PPP)
News of the Day COVERAGE

200000048 – World Newser
•| #World |•| #Online |•| #Media |•| #Outlet |

View more Headlines & Breaking News here, as covered by cryptopolytech.com

With cash-dispensing machines that give instructions in Latin, it is a financial institution like no other, but the Vatican’s bank is mired in controversy after decreeing that if two employees fall in love and want to marry, one of them must resign.

The regulation is intended to combat nepotism and conflicts of interest. But it has scotched the future of a couple – dubbed “Romeo and Juliet” by the Catholic press – who work at the bank and recently married.

Love allegedly blossomed after their eyes met across a crowded teller counter. They were married in a church in Fregene, a beach town on the coast near Rome, on August 31.

But under the draconian rule, their work contracts will expire within 30 days of the wedding unless one of them voluntarily resigns from the Vatican bank, which is officially known as the IOR, an Italian acronym meaning the Institute for the Works of Religion.

The decree states: “In order to ensure equal treatment, the celebration of a canonical marriage between an employee of the Institute and another employee of the Institute, or of other administrations of the Vatican City State, constitutes a cause for loss of hiring requirements.

“The loss of employment is considered to have been overcome, however, for one of the two spouses if the other ceases his or her employment relationship with the institute and with other Vatican administrations within 30 days of the celebration of the canonical marriage.”

The bank said that the objective of the rule was to “guarantee conditions of equal treatment of all employees during their entire period of service”. 

“Given that the institute has a little over 100 employees in just one location, without any branches, this rule is fundamental for preventing inevitable conflicts of interest of a professional sort among potential spouses, as well as possible doubts about family-related management among its clients and the broader public.”

The young couple’s quandary has caused consternation within the towering stone walls of the Vatican City State, the smallest country in the world.

“How is it possible that an internal regulation can supersede the sacrament?” an anonymous insider was quoted as saying.

Protests have been lodged by the ADLV, an association of lay employees similar to a union, which has expressed solidarity with the couple.

Family ‘endangered by bureaucratic rules’

“We’ve tried to initiate a process of mediation with the bank, presenting the argument that plans to start a new family must not be endangered by bureaucratic rules. We are also consulting experts in canon law,” a spokesman told Il Messaggero newspaper.

The couple’s only hope now is that the Pope himself may intervene. That seems unlikely, at least in the short term – Francis is in the middle of a 12-day, 20,000 mile apostolic visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.

The 87-year-old pontiff is not due back in Rome until September 13 and will need to recuperate for a while from one of the longest journeys ever undertaken by a pope.

There are likely to be other, more pressing matters on his desk once he returns home.

The bank occupies a 15th-century tower that was once used as a papal prison. Its entrance is watched over by pantaloon-wearing soldiers from the Swiss Guard who are responsible for the safety of the Pope.

The institution, once dubbed by Forbes “the most secret bank in the world”, manages funds and accounts held by the Holy See, Catholic charities around the world and individual cardinals, priests and nuns.

After years of corruption allegations, Pope Francis embarked on a campaign to clean up the bank, demanding greater transparency and better compliance with anti-money laundering and tax evasion regulations.