VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Friday publicly backed his new economy czar, who is overhauling the Vatican’s administration amid grumblings from some Holy See bureaucrats about a perceived abrasive and secretive style.

Francis acknowledged Cardinal George Pell’s “tenacity” in calling the imposing Australian the Vatican’s resident “rugby player.” Francis echoed Pell’s call for a new way of doing business at the Vatican in urging Holy See employees to embrace a “new mentality of evangelical service.”