Pope Leo XIV has taken his biggest step yet to correct one of Pope Francis’ more problematic financial moves
ByNICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press
December 5, 2025, 5: 33 AM
ROME — ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has taken his biggest step yet to correct one of Pope Francis’ more problematic financial moves, canceling a special Holy See fundraising commission that was announced under questionable circumstances while Francis was hospitalized.
Leo on Thursday formally suppressed the fundraising commission, abrogated its statutes and fired its members. He decreed that its assets would go to the Holy See as a whole, and that the Vatican patrimony office would oversee the commission’s extinction.
A new working group would be formed, with papally approved members, to come up with fundraising proposals and an appropriate structure going forward, the decree said.
The decree was the latest sign that as 2025 comes to an end, history’s first American pope is wrapping up the loose ends of Francis’ pontificate. Leo is correcting problems as needed and fulfilling Francis’ Holy Year obligations, as he looks ahead to the new year when he can focus more on his own agenda.
The Vatican had announced the creation of the commission, its statutes and members on Feb. 26, while Francis was in the hospital battling double