ROME (AP) — Pope Francis set a 40-euro ($48) gift cap for all Vatican employees in one of his biggest efforts yet to crack down on corruption in the Holy See. The new law also requires Vatican superiors to declare every two years that they aren’t stashing money in tax havens and aren’t under criminal investigation for tax evasion, money laundering or other crimes. Experts in church management said Thursday the reform is a “giant step” toward ending corruption, greed and clericalism in the Vatican. Francis has preached about cleaning up the Holy See’s murky financial practices for eight years, but the new law marks his biggest step yet to ensure his own cardinals and managers are clean.
