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All but one of a five-member panel that  oversees the controversial Vatican bank has been fired by Pope  Francis.

Four cardinals were given their marching  orders by Francis on Wednesday.

Those sacked were former Secretary of State,  Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone SDB, Cardinals Odilo Scherer from Brazil, Telesphore  Toppo from India and Domenico Calcagno, from within the Vatican

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the  Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, kept his job, according to The Tablet.

The Catholic paper explained that with the  exception of Calcagno, the cardinals were all just eleven months into a second,  five-year team, having been appointed by Benedict XVI.

The Vatican bank was caught in a  money-laundering row in 2010 after Italian prosecutors uncovered allegedly  suspicious financial activity within the organisation.

Bank chairman Ettore Gotti Tedeschi and his  deputy Paolo Cipriani were investigated after financial police seized 23million  euros from a Vatican bank account.

It was claimed that even as the bank was  claiming to tackle money-laundering, it broke the law by trying to transfer  money without identifying the sender or recipient, or what the money was being  used for.

It was an accusation furiously denied by the  Vatican.

Francis may not be showing much love for his  banking cardinals, but he is for engaged couples, as he’s extended an invitation  to them to spend Valentine’s Day with him.

A note, entitled ‘The Joy of Yes Forever’  issued by Vatican city invites engaged, heterosexual couples to a private  audience with the Pontiff next month.

Organised by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council  for Family, participants are required to register by January 30 to secure their  place.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk