Pope deplores Vatican leaks, vows to continue reforms

Pope Francis on Sunday pledged to follow up reforms in the Church, despite what he called "deplorable" leaks revealing his fury over uncontrolled spending by the Vatican.

"I want to assure you that this sad fact will not prevent me from the reforms which will proceed with my collaborators and the backing of you all," he said after Angelus prayers.

The pope was speaking for the first time since the arrest last weekend of an Italian PR expert and a Spanish priest on suspicion of stealing and leaking classified documents to the media.

"I know that many of you are perturbed by the recent news on the secret documents of the Holy See which were taken and published," he said.

"Publishing these documents was an error," he added. "It was a deplorable act which does not help."

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