Pope Leo XIV has strengthened the transparency rules implemented by Pope Francis, specifically in the area of the awarding of public contracts within the Vatican.
The decree was signed by the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Spaniard Maximino Caballero, whose role could be considered similar to that of a government "minister.
The new decree lays out the specific bureaucratic steps that must be followed to in order to prevent public contracts from being awarded arbitrarily.
The rules issued by Pope Francis in 2020 did not go into detail like this. In fact, over the years, these laws have been gradually refined.
For instance, these laws bar companies convicted of fraud from participating in public tenders; contracts also cannot be awarded to relatives up to the fourth degree; and entities under investigation for organized crime or terrorism are also excluded.
One of the pillars of Pope Francis' transparency was the prevention of corruption in public procurement processes. To achieve this, his collaborators drew inspiration from UN principles already adopted by nearly all European countries.
CRT
