VATICAN CITY – This is no ordinary bank: The ATMs are in Latin.
Priests use a private entrance. A life-size portrait of Pope Benedict
XVI hangs on the wall.
Nevertheless, the Institute for Religious Works is a bank, and it's
under harsh new scrutiny in a case involving money-laundering
allegations that led police to seize euro23 million ($30 million) in
Vatican assets in September. Critics say the case shows that the
"Vatican Bank" has never shed its penchant for secrecy and scandal.