Pope Mandates Strict Financial Rules For Cardinals, Senior Vatican Staff

Pope Francis on Thursday issued a decree aimed at financial transparency in the church, requiring a strict limit on the value of gifts that cardinals and managers can receive and requiring them to disclose their investments to ensure they are in line with Catholic doctrine.

The new mandate, which comes in the form of an apostolic letter, comes amid a major ongoing investigation into alleged financial corruption in the Vatican, something Francis has preached about cleaning up since becoming pontiff in 2013.

The new rules are aimed at ending what some refer to as the Vatican's "envelope" culture.

"[A]ccording to Scripture, fidelity in small things is related to fidelity in important ones," Francis wrote in the letter, referencing Luke 16:10 that "just as being dishonest in matters of little consequence is also related to being dishonest in important matters."

Among the pope's new provisions are a prohibition on Vatican employees receiving "work-related gifts" with a value of over 40 euros ($49) — a move aimed at limiting the practice of cardinals and Vatican monsignors receiving checks from fellow clerics to supplement their relatively modest salaries.