By Catholic News Service • Posted January 21, 2015

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, named Tommaso Di Ruzza to be the next director of the Vatican’s Financial Intelligence Authority.

The Vatican announced the appointment Jan. 21.

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Di Ruzza was an official at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace before he was appointed an assistant at the financial agency, then promoted to be its “ad interim” vice director last June.

Pope Benedict XVI established the Financial Intelligence Authority in 2010 to monitor Vatican financial operations and ensure they met international norms against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

In 2013, Pope Francis restructured the agency and revised its statutes to expand its role to include “preventive” vigilance, which involves ensuring the proper organization and trustworthiness of all Vatican financial operations. Its president is Swiss lawyer Rene Brulhart.