Pope Francis says ‘lure of corruption’ is constant threat in the Vatican

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Pope Francis warned on Monday against the “lure of corruption” in the Vatican that he says is a threat requiring constant vigilance.

The pontiff offered his encouragement in a meeting with the Office of the Auditor General — the highest anti-corruption authority overseeing the Roman Curia.

“Those who work at the Holy See and the Vatican City State certainly do so faithfully and honestly,” the pope wrote in remarks read by an assistant. “But the lure of corruption is so dangerous that we must be extremely vigilant.”

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Pope Francis leads his traditional Wednesday General Audience at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Pope Francis — who is recovering after a severe case of bronchitis — prepared the speech himself, though he was unable to read it.

“I know you dedicate much time to this,” the pope continued, emphasizing the constant need to discern the needs of “absolute transparency” and “merciful discretion.”

Pope Francis’s remarks come amid the final days of a yearslong Vatican financial corruption trial. 

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An aerial view shows St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican. A letter on Monday, May 16, 2011 from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has told bishops around the world to cooperate with police in reporting priests who rape and molest children and to develop guidelines for preventing abuse by May 2012. (AP)

Ten defendants, including Cardinal Angelo Becciu, are accused of defrauding the Vatican in a $400 million real estate transaction.

All 10 defendants deny the allegations and are pursuing acquittals on all counts.

Pope Francis marks the Feast of the Immaculate Conception with the traditional Act of Veneration to the Blessed Virgin Mary before the statue of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza Mignanelli, adjacent to Rome’s central Piazza di Spagna in Rome. (Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

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“I invite you to help those responsible for the administration of the Holy See’s assets to create safeguards that can prevent, ‘upstream’, the insidiousness of corruption from materializing,” the pontiff told the auditors.

Timothy Nerozzi is a writer for Fox News Digital. You can follow him on Twitter @timothynerozzi and can email him at timothy.nerozzi@fox.com