Pontiff criticises 'profiteers and climbers' within Catholic church as he begins overhaul of scandal-hit Vatican bureaucracy

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

Pope Francis has condemned "profiteers" and "climbers" who use the Catholic church for financial gain as he embarks on Vatican reforms aimed at promoting greater transparency and doing more to help the needy.

"There are climbers in the church. There are a lot of them!" the pope said during a morning mass in the Vatican residence where he has lived since being elected last year.

"People who follow Jesus for money, try to profit from the parish, the diocese, the Christian community, the hospital, the college," he said.

"We have known a lot of good Catholics, good Christians … And then we discover that they have been carrying out somewhat shady dealings. They were real profiteers and they made a lot of money." he said.

"They presented themselves as benefactors but they took a lot of money and not always clean money," he said.

Francis has said he wants a "poor church for the poor" and has begun an overhaul of the scandal-hit Vatican bureaucracy and bank, the Institute for Religious Works.

Two former directors of the Vatican bank are facing trial in Italy for money-laundering, while a former leading Vatican accountant is a defendant in a separate trial for trying to smuggle money illegally through the bank.