Vatican's first auditor-general resigns unexpectedly

The Vatican's first auditor-general, who was appointed two years ago in a move aimed at ensuring transparency in the finances at the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, has resigned, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

A brief statement gave no reason for the resignation of Libero Milone, saying merely that he had presented it on Monday to Pope Francis and that the pontiff had accepted it.

It said Milone's relationship with the Vatican, where he had been expected to serve until 2021, had been concluded "by mutual accord".

A search for a new auditor-general will begin soon.

Milone, a 68-year-old Italian who is a former chairman and CEO of the global auditing firm Deloitte in Italy, could not be immediately reached for comment.

When Milone was appointed in 2016, Cardinal George Pell, head of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Economy, said he would be autonomous, answerable only to the pope and free to "go anywhere and everywhere" in the Vatican to review the finances and management of any department.

Since his election in 2013, the pope has enacted a series of reforms to clean up the Vatican's sometimes murky finances, including a re-vamp of its bank, the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR).

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)