Article updated: 2/15/2013 7:44 AM

Pope approves German lawyer to head embattled bank

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Ernst von Freyberg

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Pope Benedict XVI signed off on one of the last major appointments of his papacy Friday, approving a German lawyer and financier to head the Vatican’s embattled bank. Ernst von Freyberg has solid financial and Catholic credentials as a former investment banker and member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, an ancient chivalrous order drawn from European nobility.