There is only one way to interpret the legislative text issued by Pope Francis on Saturday: as a rebuff to Cardinal George Pell. The motu proprio stripped the Vatican’s financial tsar of administrative powers given to him just two years ago.

In 2014 the Pope had transferred certain responsibilities from the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (Apsa), the body overseeing Vatican property and investments, to the Secretariat for the Economy, run by Cardinal Pell. The Vatican old guard deeply resented this reform, which reduced their influence and boosted that of a man they regard as a crude interloper. They lobbied remorselessly for a return to the status quo – and on Saturday they got it.