Vatican's bank moves to lift veil of secrecy Past the Swiss guards protecting the walled city-state of the Vatican and into a medieval tower next to the private quarters of the pope, clients using the cash machine of one of the world's most secretive banks are offered a choice of six languages. Those pressing the button for Latin are told: "Inserito scidulam quaeso ut faciundam cognoscas rationem" - which, roughly translated, means you should insert your card to access services. But rather than keep its operations mired in obscurity and dead languages, the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), as the Vatican's bank is formally known, on Thursday opened its doors for an unprecedented visit by some 50 reporters. It was an effort to demonstrate the Vatican's latest attempt at modernity and transparency - and came just before a key meeting next week of international anti-money laundering experts. The key phrase during the reporters" tour was "lifting the lid" on the IOR. With the help of a PowerPoint presentation, Paolo Cipriani, the bank's director, was keen to stress its efforts to adhere to international anti-money laundering norms and best banking practices. The IOR has considerable reputational problems. It has been dogged by Italian media reports of suspected use of its accounts by organised crime, a legacy of the bank's sometimes murky history. The most infamous incident came with the death of "God's banker" 30 years ago when Roberto Calvi, former chairman of collapsed Banco Ambrosiano - which was part-owned by IOR - was found hanging from London's Blackfriars Bridge, a presumed victim of the mafia. Next Wednesday in Strasbourg, a plenary session of Moneyval - Council of Europe experts who examine measures to counter money laundering and terrorism financing - will assess the Vatican's compliance with international recommendations. Moneyval officials have visited the Vatican and issued a confidential draft report. Leaks suggest the Holy See will be said to be making progress in some areas that would make an important step towards inclusion on what is informally known as the European Commission's "white list" of compliant states. However, Vatican observers said questions could be raised about the financial activities outside the IOR of powerful church bodies. Definitive exclusion from the "white list" would deal serious reputational damage to the Vatican, hindering its use of global banking services to support its churches, missions and humanitarian operations overseas. The Vatican has wider problems, too. Among the throng on Thursday's visit was Greg Burke, a former correspondent for the US's Fox News and a conservative Catholic, who was on his first day as the Vatican's "senior communications advisor." His mission is to help repair damage to the Holy See from successive scandals - from paedophile priests to the arrest last month of Pope Benedict's butler on suspicion of leaking documents, to the sacking of the IOR's own president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi. In abruptly sacking Mr Gotti Tedeschi last month, the bank's board branded him incompetent, divisive and displaying "progressively erratic personal behaviour." The Vatican has denied that he was removed because he advocated more transparency. Mr Cipriani explained that the IOR was not a bank but a "financial institute" that managed the Vatican's assets while providing services for its activities in more than 150 countries. The IOR had some €6bn in assets, its aim was not to make a profit and it only invested carefully in products with a minimum single A rating, he added. He disclosed that the bank had 33,000 accounts and that all its clients - including clerics, Vatican employees and pensioners - were carefully vetted. He said no anonymous ciphered accounts had existed since 1996. Pope Benedict was in effect the owner of the bank, Mr Cipriani said, adding: "But he does not have an account or touch a cent. He does not need to.