Pope urges finance, Curia reforms, extols soccer

Fan Francis meets Italian Cup finalists before Saturday match

(ANSA) - Rome, May 2 - Institutional reforms, helping the needy, and setting high standards for public role models were all themes addressed by Pope Francis on Friday. The pontiff, just days after a major international event where he canonized two popes, still found the energy to call for significant reforms to the Catholic Church, including its asset management as well as its ruling body, and to meet with rival soccer clubs. The meeting with soccer teams Fiorentina and Napoli, who will face off Saturday in the Italian Cup match in Rome, was a labor of love for the pope, an avowed soccer fan and paid-up supporter of the Buenos Aires club San Lorenzo in his homeland of Argentina.

Francis reminded the clubs that because their players and management are public figures and role models to kids, they have a duty to behave well. "I thank you for this visit: it seems to me that your role conveys a social responsibility," Francis told the players who came to the Vatican to meet the pontiff and present him with gifts including a Napoli soccer jersey emblazoned with "Francesco 1". "You are at the center of attention, and so many of your admirers are young," he added. "Keep this in mind, think about how your behavior has a resonance, for good and bad," said Francis. "Always be true sportsmen".

Meanwhile, the reform-minded pontiff told the Holy See's Economic Council that continuing the process of revamping which the Curia has started "will not be simple and will require courage and determination". "It's a sizeable challenge that requires faith and prudence," said the pope, who has been moving carefully but strongly to reshape a reportedly dysfunctional Church government since his election almost 15 months ago. Reforms to the ruling Curia must focus on how to better serve the Catholic Church "and the mission of (St) Peter," which includes greater care for the poor and needy, said the pope. Those concerns should also be top of mind in management of Church assets, with a focus on transparency and efficiency to better assist the needy, said the pope.

The Church must be "aware of its responsibility to safeguard and carefully manage its assets in light of its mission of spreading the Gospel, with particular care for the needy," said Francis. "We must not stray from this path: transparency and efficiency yes, but towards this goal," added the pope, who took his name from the humble and plain-living St. Francis of Assisi.