Half-Naked Acrobats Shake Up Staid Vatican

Pope shakes up management at little-regulated Vatican bank

(NEWSER) - The Vatican bank—so secretive it makes Swiss bankers seem chatty—is getting a major revamp as part of Pope Benedict XVI's campaign for transparency. Italian economist Ettori Tedeschi has been appointed the new chief executive—replacing someone who's been in the post 20 years—and the bank's supervisory board has been reconstituted. "It's a delicate post," says one Vatican official. "We expect deep change." More»

(NEWSER) - The Vatican plans to build Europe’s largest solar power plant on land it owns north of Rome, Bloomberg reports. The 740-acre site—many times bigger than the 108 acres that make up the world’s smallest nation—is predicted to generate enough power for 40,000 households when it comes online in 2014, enabling the ever-greener Vatican to sell the excess. More»

Vatican will no longer rubber stamp Italian laws before adopting them

(NEWSER) - The Vatican is getting a divorce from Italian law. The Pope has decreed his city-state within Rome will no longer automatically endorse Italian legislation, but will scrutinize bills for conflicts with Roman Catholic doctrine before adopting them. It's the first time the Vatican has distanced itself from Italy's laws—and treaties—since it became an independent state in 1929. The Vatican recently refused to approve a United Nations declaration decriminalizing homosexuality. More»

Employees get new corporate-style bonus system

(NEWSER) - The Vatican is offering corporate-style performance bonuses to its workers for the first time, the Times of London reports. Pope Benedict XVI is offering rewards based on "dedication, professionalism, productivity and politeness." The conditions will apply to the thousands of lay workers who do everything from run Vatican Radio to repairing the Popemobile. More»

Benedict rebuilds demoted department the leads dialog with Islamic world

(NEWSER) - The Pope applied some salve to wounded relations with the Muslim world yesterday after neglecting and then appearing to slander Islam in a speech last fall. In a surprising reversal, Benedict XVI announced he is restoring the Vatican department responsible for Muslim affairs, which he demoted in importance last year. More»