DHAKA: Pope Francis has held his first meeting with a special group of cardinals to consider ways to reform the Vatican.

The group, known as the Vatican G8, has been chosen from outside the Holy See`s administration to ensure independence.

Made up of eight cardinals picked by Francis from around the world, the group is looking at ways to reshape the Roman Catholic Church`s bureaucracy.

Francis said in a newspaper interview that the Vatican had become too self-interested and needed to be inclusive.

The Church`s central administration has been hit by numerous scandals in recent years, with bishops around the world criticising it as autocratic and heavy-handed.

As the three-day talks got underway, Italy`s La Repubblica newspaper printed an interview with Francis in which he spoke about problems facing the Vatican`s administration.

In it he denounced its "Vatican-centric" attitude and conceded that his predecessors had been infatuated with the pomp of the Vatican and its "courtiers".

"The [papal] court is the leprosy of the papacy," he said.

"It looks after the interests of the Vatican, which are still, in large part temporal interests. This Vatican-centric vision neglects the world around it and I will do everything to change it."

Source: BBC
BDST: 0945 HRS, OCT 02, 2013
AKA/BSK