text:
Talk:Missionaries of Charity

Neutrality Disputed
This is a crazy article of when a mother who knew alot of stuff contains a one-sided point of view. It provides no positives of the charity. I suggest that some positives be added, and critisms further investigated/ Trevor  13:56, 2 Nov 2005  (UTC)

No title given
None of the claims in this part of the article are actually backed up with anything but heresay. They don't belong in an encyclopedia. The following has been added: Note: Former sections headed Criticism and Misuse of funds have been suppressed. Is there any doubt as to the accuracy of this prefatory note? Any complaint about the accuracy of 'suppressed' in this instance? Wetman 00:06, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * How can it be called "suppressed", when, according to the edit history, the text in question was added then later deleted (presumably because it is currently back in the Mother Teresa article) by the same person (Alexandros, aka Aplank)? Harris7 03:50, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)

 * Wetman : Even if it was legitimate information that was removed and not placed elsewhere, you should not have put the notice in the article.  Such a notice would be appropriate on the talk page.  Even if someone were to remove the death counts from the Holocaust article, it would not be right to put a notice :
 * "Note : Former information in this article has been suppressed".
 * Instead, you should replace them with the original text, found in the history. Then, you can perhaps put a watch on the article and protect from further vandalism.  If you are not sure that you should put the sections back, you don't have to.  What you should do, however, is keep the professional portrait of Wikipedia intact.  Such a notice appears to show that Wikipedians have no control over its contact, which is ironic, given you have the complete right to modify all of it. Superm401 00:01, Apr 2, 2005 (UTC)

Nearly only negatives claims in this article. Should be titled "Criticism against blabla". But has a pure criticist article a place in Wikipedia? gbog 14:45, 21 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Appalling
I can't believe this article, which seems to consist mostly of unattributed and unproven claims, most of which are incredible and beyond belief.

Claims are made that the Missionaries of Charity were observed (and supposedly audited) doing things that amount it is claimed to fraud, ten years ago in the USA and United Kingdom. So where are the charges from the appropriate authorities? Where is the official investigation which should have ensued? The lack of both seems a clear indication that these charges are malicious and bogus.

The allegations headlined "torture" lower down, are even more incredible and seem to me to be libelous, and based on the sole "testimony" and guesswork of one supposed (hindu) priest ten years ago. Why is this given any room at all? Once again if this "charge " was known to the Indian authorities ten years ago, where is the action, where the prosecutions? How come Mother Teresa was given a State funeral with thousands lining the streets to mourn the passing of this "torturer"? Quite obviously this is just another malicious slur.

 * That the MoC diverted donations to the Vatican bank is well-documented and backed up by many reputable sources, including the Stern research. I have, however, removed the sentence "Under the laws regulating charities in most countries, this would amount to fraud and/or theft." I would like to see a specific citation here - which laws are being violated?

 * As for the torture, the single case of severe abuse that has been acknowledged by the Homes does not merit inclusion at this point, but should be included if other cases surface. For future reference, this is the revision which includes the information.--Eloquence*

This article is unbalanced and one-sided. silsor 04:23, Oct 7, 2004 (UTC)

 * Wow, both unbalanced and one-sided ;-). Of course it is. This article was basically created out of the Mother Teresa page and used to deposit some of the criticisms that are not directly addressed at MT. In order to make it more balanced, more information should be added about the organization itself.--Eloquence*

One-sidedness
I'm going to try to make it a bit less biased. I'll lolm,llm nnnknkjok in the hiqnqjkjoljjkjkrbnw

∞story for useful text that has been removed then, if there's nothing, I'll find some myself. Superm401 23:53, Apr 1, 2005 (UTC)

I agree that it's one-sided, but I think the solution is to add more positive information about the Missionaries of Charity, not rem ove all the criticisms. I reverted some text that was copied from the article on Mother Theresa, because it wasn't really related to the Missionaries of Charity and I didn't see a need to duplicate it. Pfalstad 18:09, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Purpose
The purpose of an Encyclopedia is to present facts, not speculation, opinion or "spin", either positive or negative. gangic 16:49, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

This page did not show what I was interested in. I have a friend who has been a Missionary of Charity for 4 years. I think it is a cult. I just got an email from her mom - I've gotten periodic mass email updates since she left - and her mom said it was going to be the last update because her daughter needs to live a "Hidden life in Christ." Why? I don't get it. Seriously. I wish this article said something about that.

My friend described her day once to me. She wakes up before 5am. She has 2 outfits. Every day she wears one and washes the other and hangs it to dry. She prays a lot. Helps the poor and homeless a lot. She has a nap in the afternoon, an hour of personal/community time at night, and goes to bed around 9pm. She doesn't read newspapers, watch TV, use the phone or the internet or anything else like that. Once a month she writes a letter to her parents. That is her only outbound communication. After 2 years, her mother wrote everyone requesting we limit letters to her to 2 per year or so - stick to major events like births, deaths, and weddings. She is going to take vows in Washington, D.C. after 5 years in the order, after which she will be a Junior Sister I believe. She takes final vows after 10 years in the order. At the 10 year mark, she receives 3 weeks of vacation. After she takes her final vows, she can no longer hug anyone except for children.

She moves often. She's lived in New York, San Francisco, and New Mexico (so far as I know). The idea is that she should have no attachments to anyone other than god, so she should not form relationships with other people or nuns. Typically nuns will be paired up to keep an eye on one another she said. A normal number of nuns to have in a convent she said was around 8. She relies entirely on donations and if she ever runs out of donations, she would have to beg.

That is all I know about where my friend is. It would be helpful if this article included information like that about the order. OrangeClouds115 08:15, 30 October 2005 (UTC)

 * Hmm where do you see cult there? Everything that you write there has been standard practice for monastics for over a 1000 years. One of the branches of MC is contemplative. If she were a contemplative Cistercian or Cathusian, she would not only be enclosed in cloister but would have her own hermit cell. This practice is not confined to the catholic faith either. Most of the orthodox and even buddhists hjave monastics who are shut away from the world. Actually having no real financial responsibilities and the leisure of most of the day to spend in contemplation of god is very appealing to many people. Williamb 09:32, 18 November 2005 (UTC)

 * This quote worries me the most: "This page did not show what I was interested in."

 * The job of WikiPedia is not to appeal to the specific interest of a reader. It is to supply unbiased facts.  Also, you seem rather puzzled as to the "cult-like" behavior, which actually from your own descriptions fits well within the boundaries of monasticism (q.v.).  Monasticism is quite often very alien to the mindset of the average middle-class first-world citizen -- it certainly goes directly against the traditional idea of capitalist work ethic, but it has been effective as a venue for charitable works for thousands of years in multiple religions.

 * Also, just because the friend you mention does things you would not choose to does not make her decision to join the MC inherently wrong. Personal agendas are perhaps the worst reason to ask for a change to an encyclopedia - there should never be a slant to information presented as factual, and even though WikiPedia is a volunteer organization, there is a distinct responsibility to transmit as impartially as possible (see NPOV).  There is distinct danger in slanting encyclopedia articles in any direction; not only is it misleading and questionably moral, but it may lead directly to legal issues such as slander or libel (see John Seigenthaler Sr.).

 * Whatever opinion I have on Mother Teresa or the Missionaries of Charity has no bearing on how this article should be portrayed, except for an insistence on following WikiPedia's NPOV policy. Both the Criticisms and Responses to Criticisms are full of statements that have no place in an encyclopedia ("Those criticising Theresa do so from the comfort of their Western opulence without serving the world's poor with nearly the selflessness that characterized her life." is a particularly egregious offender.)

 * WikiPedia is no place for pro OR anti-MC propaganda, or propaganda of any sort. "Just the facts, ma'am."  That is all WikiPedia can be ... or should be.

 * Cheers! Miwa 06:36, 21 December 2005 (UTC)

Of course it's a cult. The reason it seems like normal monasticism is that monasticism is the template for what we call cults; the only difference is that it's Christian so for some bizarre reason people therefore think it's okay. Isolation, enormous peer pressure, indoctrination by constantly reading the same "holy" text over and over again, constant repetition and contemplation, arbitrary and silly rules, self-mortificatory practices; these are pure cult control techniques. The only difference between a religion and a cult is success.

(the author above needs to sign his/her name)

As we've seen in the case of Anna Nicole - mothers and daughters don't always agree. Nor do they quote each other correctly. The Missionaries of Charity are not asked to live a life 'hidden with Christ'. Mother Teresa's calling was simply to serve the poorest of the poor. I've read every book written about her and she did not recruit members nor did she draw them into seclusion. In fact, she barely spoke. There was too much work to be done.

She was a humble nun who walked out into the streets of Calcutta and began helping the poor alone. Soon other sisters asked if they could join her and she tried to discourage them but they insisted. It's been that way ever since. Volunteers come and they are asked, 'are you sure you want to do this'? They don't have time for recruiting or brain washing. No time for a sales pitch. In fact, very little conversation goes on at all. They work hard from sun up to sun down.

I don't think you get the urgency of their work. There isn't time to convince anyone to stay who doesn't truly want to be there. The people they care for are dying, homeless, suffering from aids or other life threatening illnesses and the children in their orphanages are malnourished, ill and have been abandoned or worse.

You shouldn't be asking why would your friend stay...with children dying you should wonder...why aren't we all booking the first flight out to help save them.

Raye Howard 05:28, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

I was struck by the one-sidedness of the article. Although the article gave some links to some official websites of the Missionaries of Charity, almost half of the citations are drawn from the work of Christopher Hitchens whose works always present religion in negative light. His basic thesis is well known: 'religion is that religion poisons everything.' Also, there's no single direct citation from Mother Teresa's writing herself despite abundant availability of her writings and especially her letters.

How could claims attributed to 'The Lancet' and 'the British Medical Journal' rely on Christopher Hitchens' work as citation! The thorough academic thing to do is to cite these journals themselves, at least 'as cited in the works of Christopher Hitchens' but this was not the case.

Yemi —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.21.63.25 (talk) 20:07, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Criticisms section
This seems to have been deleted in its entirety, perhaps without others noticing, so I've reverted it. I have no view about it but since this was a major part of this page just to delete it all seems unreasonable. If it's inaccurate or POV etc. it should be edited, not completely deleted. Ben Finn 12:38, 4 August 2005 (UTC)

I joined the MCs when I was younger and much of what is stated above by the friend is true. Even though it does seem like a cult, know that your friend is being cared for, and she can leave at any time. There is an enormous effort put into discerning one's vocation in the MCs, and despite its seemingly anti-world view, she is connected constantly in prayer and service.

No evidence is presented here to back up the statements made. Negative press is not proof. Please consider removing this section. Raye Howard 04:58, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Criticism of criticism section
I've updated the above section to try and make it more NPOV. There is another section which I feel is not NPOV specificially:

 * Such criticisms as the auspiciously poor condition of health care may stem from cultural misunderstanding. Among some in India there is a conception of karma - the idea that people deserve their pain on the basis of the previous life, and there is no need to help them. The Misionaries of Charity on the other hand strive to help these "poorest of the poor" - people who otherwise die alone on the streets. The Sisters bring not only basic medical treatment, but much more importantly love and care. Opponents for critics of Theresa argue that such critics do so from the comfort of their Western opulence without serving the world's poor with nearly the selflessness that characterized her life.

I've brought this up on the India project board as follows... My understanding of the Indan conception of Karma and Indians in general suggest this is a very unfair characterisation to say that some Indians feel that people deserve their pain on the basis of their previous life so there is no need to help them. Perhaps there are a few Indians who think like this but my understanding is that generally speaking, if anything for most Indians who believe in karma this would mean they should help people in pain not ignore them. Nil Einne 14:16, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

However I also have a few under misgivings about this section. Specifically a large part of the criticism of Mother Teresa has not come from India but from people in the Western world as this text suggests it self. So how much relevance the Indian conception of Karma has to these criticism of Mother Teresa is arguable. Also, whether love and care is more important then basic medical treatment is arguable, and whether the Missionaries are providing love and care is also arguable. Finally, I fail to see how saying that the quality of medical care provided by the Missionaries is insufficient has anything to do with karma. Indeed it appears the opposite since what is being said is she was not really doing much, there was a lot more she could have done. Perhaps the only relevant issue from the disputed text is whether it was better to provide 'love and care' (and missionary work) or whether it is better to provide better better quality medical care without so much of this 'love and care'... Nil Einne 14:16, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Yup to both observations of Nil Einne. --Gurubrahma 16:56, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

 * Speaking as someone with no real knowledge on this subject, after reading this page I was left wondering where all the money had really gone and why the medical facilties at the Mission were so basic (bearing in mind the money donated). If these questions can be addressed in this section it would hopefully bring the article out of dispute.SOPHIA 16:40, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

NPOVing edits
I made these edits to make it NPOV. I beleive the neutrality tag should be removed.

The article may seem one-sided, and the "criticisms" section most definitely does need editing for brevity. However, keep in mind that in some cases, an encyclopedic presentation of the facts will be one-sided because the facts are one sided. I beleive this is one of those cases. If the evidence suggests that money given for charity was instead sent to the Vatican, that should be what is presented. Doing so is not non-neutral, nor is it POV. I beleive the neutraity tag currently gives the (false) impression that what is within the article is false or politically motivated; I don't think that is the case. I am inclined to remove the "response to criticisms" section; it has a POV tint, is not very well written, and there is little to no actual material to work with (in other words, additional editing is unlikely to ever improve the arguments of the section).Lastly, the point has been made that the article includes very few positive things about the charity. We should consider whether there indeed exist additional positive aspects of the charity. --AK7 09:07, 22 January 2006 (UTC)

Just the facts is impossible
Any reporting done on a iconic figure like Mother Teresa is bound to upset some people, while please others. Thats why I wrote the "reposonse to criticism", to satisfy the "contributors" who kept deleting the criticism section. It was later added to by a pro-Mother Teresa contributor making arguments about karma and different cultures, which I though went to far into being a POV. I think the article as it is now is well balanced, both sides have their say.

For those who like to argue the cliche "we just want the facts" forget that facts are always given in a GOOD encylcopedia with some interpretation. A good encylcopedia isnt simply a listing of factoids. The way the facts are interpreted in the "criticism" section leads logically to a dismal view of MT. Thus those who do not hold this view of MT will want to question the interpretation given in the article. Hence the need for a "response" section.

Facts
Facts are possible in every case. Noting the criticisms and balancing them with description is enough. Giving the criticism is not a definition of what this group is, nor is this page supposed to be about Mother Theresa herself. The criticism section must be distilled into its essential ideas, which I think would only take a paragraph or two. This is just a matter of structure.

"In one case of a patient who died of tuberculosis, Louden reported being told by an American doctor working at Kalighat that the patient might have lived if she had received some hospital treatment." When I was working in Calcutta patients were always taken to a hospital when it was needed. Usually when severely wounded and destitute patients were found they had to be taken to a hospital. Unfortunately the state hospitals in India are nightmarish places, but volunteer doctors always checked on them, ensuring their safety and good care.

However that is my experience, not necessarily fact. With over a hundred homes around the world there are going to be different experiences. That is why this article must be restricted to fact. It is a fact that these criticisms exist but is not for an encyclopedic entry to judge or take sides, only to note its existence. scazza 18:33, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

In the criticisms section: "Patients were left with nothing to do and nowhere to go." I have deleted this since it is unclear. I do not understand where the patients are supposed to go. Does Louden mean recreational space? I've tried to limit her comments to the most specific.

Also, this article is from 1992, so is it still relevant? I think we may want to use more recent criticisms of the organisation, considering that it has only existed for 55 years, so 13 years is a significant amount of time for development.

This further shows the need for citations. The reader must know when and where this was said so that they have all the facts at hand for them to make a fully informed opinion. scazza 19:25, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

Separate criticisms article
The criticisms section of the Mother Theresa article is well organised but too long. I suggest that a new, separate criticisms article is made, summarised in both of these articles with a reference to the main article. scazza 19:25, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

Facts possible in every case??
Clearly people can select out the facts that suit the argument they are trying to make. That is why a Wikipedia article such as this should have both points of view presented. Otherwise, people will just keep deleting the "facts" they dont like.

This is why Wikipedia is excellent on technical and scientific topics, but complete trash on political, religion and social topics.

orphanages
Please send me information about Mother Teresa's orphanages and how to contact someone from the Missionaries of Charity. Thank you. Mary Rogers gsaintgeorge@aol.com

There are 3 orphanages which one can volunteer in in Kolkata, daya dan (For disabled children), shisu bhavan & shisu bhavan howra. The M.C's dont have e-mail accounts so the best way to get in touch is to go to Kolkata and go to mother house on a mon / wed / fri @ 3pm for registration as a volunteer and a brief orientation talk. Also in relation to this article, It does appear very one sided so i hope people dont mind if i edit it a bit. I was volunteer co-ordinator there for a year so i know some of the info provided here is either untrue or biased.

Criticism section
I'm not sure how to do it, but the section would do better if it explained the criticism of how the group operates rather than the arguement that they somehow launder money to the Catholic church or something. This can be included, but its seriously misleading to bring criticisms without first explaining the basis of how the group operates. Lastly, the section seriously needs citations. 74.137.230.39 02:13, 8 February 2007 (UTC)

Please refrain from using words like 'cult'. If, we say something here that discourages people from donating to this organization their orphanages and homes for the dying could be directly affected. The internet is a powerful tool. Please use your voice for good not evil.

[[User:Raye Howard|] 04:04, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

Moved from article
The section lacks sources. Please re-add when sources are provided. ≈ jossi ≈ (talk) 01:33, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

==Criticisms==

Some critics alleged that Mother Teresa and her followers accepted donations specifically earmarked for the sick and the poor, but that the funds were used for other purposes, particularly evangelism. Some of these complaints amount to accusations of fraud.

The Missionaries of Charity do not disclose either the sources of their funds or details of how they are spent. A 1998 article in the popular German Stern weekly quoted a witness account according to which the order received about US$50 million a year in donations on its New York account alone. Other journalists have given estimates of US$100 million a year for its global operations. Critics have argued that these sums far exceed the modest needs of the order.

Critics have also alleged that much of the money donated to the order is transferred to the Istituto per le Opere Religiose (colloquially known as the Vatican Bank) in Rome, where it is used by the Catholic Church for its general purposes, or is transferred to non-Christian countries for evangelical purposes.

WP: criticism suggests an actual "criticism" section is discouraged. The WP guideline specifically states this, and encourages, instead, the integration of such material into the main article. As an encyclopedia, it makes more sense to address counter-points/criticisms in the body of the article, where a specific topic is discussed (i.e. The order raised a lot of money...but some say it wasn't distributed as intended). If you think there is info missing, add it to the article. That doesn't require a separate section, and having a separate section makes the counter-points disjointed. This very issue came up in the article on Mother Teresa, with a couple of editors determined to have a criticisms section that was basically a MT-bashing section. It took away from the quality of the entire article. It was agreed by the majority of editors to remove it, integrate any SOURCED and relevant material into the main article, and it wa soon given GA status. As mentioned above, proper sources are required. Any sentence that begins "Critics have also alleged" is not going to cut it. --Anietor 03:19, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Stupid excuse to get rid of criticism. If you want to change it then integrate it yourself. Don't delete. I know it is hard to get around the myth of mother Theresa, but wikipedia is supposed to be objective.--77.248.90.202 01:23, 27 July 2007 (UTC)
 * That's not a stupid excuse it's the rules of the website. And calling it the "myth of Mother Teresa" only shows your bias. I believe it would be productive to have criticism within the article but the previous section was unnecessary, irrelevant and unsourced.74.137.230.39 20:04, 29 July 2007 (UTC)

Regina Mundi Scandal
I really think there ought to be something about the Regina Mundi scandal in the late 90s. There were a lot of power plays going on in the background in order for Mother to make the decision to stop sending future superiors to college there after having done it for decades. (Maybe it should be in the controversies section?)

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, read An Unquenchable Thirst--specifically the chapter entitled "Bullies" and a few before it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:301:779A:FC0:6088:D264:B3CE:9C11 (talk) 20:40, 3 February 2017 (UTC)

Can we distinguish use of sources?
Please explain to me why tabloid sources are not acceptable even when they clearly document what they claim. Are you saying that the matter of Princess Diana's closeness to Mother Teresa is not worthy of note, when she testifies to the profound impact Mother Teresa had on her life? Jzsj (talk) 14:48, 15 May 2020 (UTC)
 * Tabloid sources are poor quality. Some (e.g. the Mail, the Sun) are deprecated and should not be used at all. It's pretty much axiomatic that if you can't find a non-tabloid source, the content is probably trivia. Guy (help!) 20:28, 15 May 2020 (UTC)

Suggested Update- FCRA licence of Mother Teresa's missionaries of charity not renewed following adverse inputs
Came across this page while reading about the FCRA updates in India in which the MoC have lost their license to accept foreign funds in India. This may be of interest to other readers and I request the admins to update the same. Should they deem fit. References below.

Thanks.

Foreign funds and the Missionaries of Charity (The Hindu)

FCRA licence of Mother Teresa's missionaries of charity not renewed following adverse inputs (Economic Times)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.176.149.85 (talk) 15:00, 3 January 2022 (UTC)

 * It’s already in the article. DeCausa (talk) 15:36, 3 January 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Missionaries of Charity


text:
User:Nach0king

I focus on soccer but don't edit much due to laziness :)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: User:Nach0king


text:
Talk:Mathematical formulation of quantum mechanics

Absurdity?
Is it just me, but is this Quantum Mechanics theory is simply a way to describe what Physicists can't be certain of? And regarding the probability of popping up of anti-matter and matter, then would that also mean that it is possible (although highly improbable) that one day I'll see myself popping out of nowhere and "exploding" to balance out the mathematical equation?

I highly respects Einstein's stance on Quantum Mechanics. So I don't believe in this. But I'd like to see a more simplified summary so that even clerks, like Einstein, can engage in the discussion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.4.96.72 (talk) 07:56, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

Summary table
what do people think of adding this summary table? someone wrote it for the List of elementary physics formulae article. I didn't wan't to completley delete it as its someone else's work and could have a place in the right article.

I really don't mind what the answer is by the way - its not my table:

$$| \mathrm{answer} \rangle = y | \mathrm{yes} \rangle + n | \mathrm{no} \rangle, \,\!$$

just thought I would make the proposal.

F=q(E+v^B) (talk) 21:38, 24 November 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by F=q(E+v^B) (talk • contribs)

Observations
I just wanted to point out a couple difficulties I am having with this article:

 * It's not clear to me what the scope of this article is with respect to quantum mechanics versus quantum field theory. Is the article trying to capture the formalisms for both?  Could there be a separate article for the formalisms of QFT?  They seem to run together in the article, and IMO, it makes the article less succinct than it could be.
 * In a similar way, the article seems to be conflicted about whether it should describe interpretations of quantum mechanics. My feeling is that this article is about the formalisms, so interpretations are out of scope, except in passing. I believe there are already articles about interpretations, so why not shift the interpretational concerns to those articles?

Postulates cleanup
Many thanks to User:GravitonsAndGraviolis for cleaning up the postulates. It was a mess of postulates, theorems, definitions, and interpretations, and now it its actually a list of the postulates used in the traditional axiomatization. Tercer (talk) 09:32, 14 March 2021 (UTC)

I don't think the postulates are adequately cited. For the whole collection, there is the statement: "The following summary of the mathematical framework of quantum mechanics can be partly traced back to the Dirac–von Neumann axioms." (citing Cohen-Tannoudji, Claude (2019)) and for the composite system postulate, there is a reference to Jauch, J. M.; Wigner, E. P.; Yanase, M. M. (1997). Apart perhaps from the composite system postulate, the postulates seem to have been formulated by wikipedians, rather than cited by wikipedians from primary or secondary sources. This strikes me as original research WP:NOR. 86.159.18.215 (talk) 11:50, 21 September 2022 (UTC)


text:
Greenock Morton F.C.

Greenock Morton Football Club is a Scottish professional football club, which plays in the Scottish Championship. The club was founded as Morton Football Club in 1874, making it one of the oldest senior Scottish clubs. Morton was renamed Greenock Morton in 1994 to celebrate the links with its home town of Greenock.

Morton won the Scottish Cup in 1922, and achieved its highest league finish in 1916–17, as runners-up to champions Celtic. Morton holds the record for the most promotions to and relegations from the top flight (10 promotions and 10 relegations), but has not competed in the top flight of the Scottish football league system since 1988. In 2014–15, Morton won its tenth league title in all divisions by winning the Scottish League One championship on the final day.

19th century
Morton Football Club was established in 1874. In the early 1870s the popularity of football was growing, with many clubs being established around Scotland. At the club's inaugural meeting, the first recorded words were "that this club be called Morton Football Club". The true reason for the name 'Morton' remains unclear, though the general consensus is that the club was named after the 'Morton Terrace', a row of houses next to the original playing field, where some of the players lived. The name would be altered in 1994 to read 'Greenock Morton Football Club', to celebrate the club's links with its hometown, though it is still almost universally referred to as 'Morton'.

Morton was one of the founding members of the old Second Division, formed in 1893, and finished 8th in its first season. Morton first gained promotion to the old First Division in 1899–1900, and finished 4th in its first season there.

20th century
Morton's greatest success came in its 1–0 defeat of Rangers in the 1922 Scottish Cup Final. Jimmy Gourlay scored the winning goal directly from a free kick in the 11th minute. Right after the match Morton boarded a train for Hartlepool to play the local side in a pre-arranged friendly match. The celebrations were delayed until the following Wednesday when 10,000 locals turned out at Cappielow Park to celebrate.

Morton has made two other major cup final appearances. On Saturday 17 April 1948, Morton drew 1–1 with Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final. Morton's goal was a free kick scored by Jimmy White. The match was replayed on Wednesday 21 April. This time Rangers won 1–0 after extra time. The goal was said to be highly controversial because it was claimed that Morton goalkeeper Jimmy Cowan was blinded by the flash of a camera. These matches were significant because of the huge crowds they attracted. The first match was played in front of 132,629. The replay, in front of 133,750, was at the time a British record attendance for a midweek match.

Morton's third and final major cup final to date was in the League Cup, played on Saturday, 26 October 1963. As in its previous two final appearances, Morton's opponent was once again Rangers. The Glasgow side won by 5 goals to nil (HT: 0–0) in front of 106,000 supporters.

During the Second World War 'guest' players were common at clubs throughout Great Britain. Morton was particularly fortunate in this respect in that two of English football's greatest ever players turned out at Cappielow. Sir Stanley Matthews and Tommy Lawton made several guest appearances for Morton. When Morton reached the 1948 Scottish Cup Final both players sent telegrams wishing good luck to their former club. Matthews simply said 'I am delighted to see Morton reach the final of the Scottish Cup'. Lawton's was more expressive, he said 'Memories of happy days during the war at Cappielow compel me to wish the Morton manager & the boys all the best of luck in their cup final at Hampden'.

To date Morton has played in a European Club Competition once. After finishing 6th in Scotland's top division in 1967–68 Morton qualified for the European Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (now the UEFA Europa League). Drawn to play Chelsea, the club was eliminated at the first hurdle after a 5–0 defeat at Stamford Bridge and a 4–3 defeat at Cappielow.

In 1992–93 Morton lost 3–2 to Hamilton Academical in the Scottish Challenge Cup Final in front of 7,391 fans. The final was played at Love Street, the home of Morton's arch rivals St Mirren.

21st century
After experiencing financial problems the team was relegated from the First Division at the end of the 2000–01 season after a six-year stay and was put into administration. The club's financial problems continued and a second successive relegation followed. In season 2002–03, Morton's first ever season in the Third Division, the club's financial situation was resolved by the takeover by chairman Douglas Rae. Rae appointed John McCormack as manager, and the team won the Third Division championship at the first attempt, confirming its position with a 1–0 victory over Peterhead in front of a then Third Division record crowd of 8,497 people.

After a strong start to the 2003–04 season, the team fell away after the turn of the year, and finished in 4th place, well outside the promotion places. This came after being 12 points ahead in the Championship race at the half-way stage. This led to unfounded allegations that some players had placed large bets on nearest rivals Airdrie United to win the league, which Airdrie eventually did.

Jim McInally was announced as McCormack's successor, and in his first season as manager the club failed to gain promotion to the First Division by a single point, finishing behind Stranraer in 3rd place.

Morton failed to gain promotion to the First Division during the 2005–06 season. Finishing 2nd was not enough, as the SFL playoffs meant that only the championship-winning team would be promoted automatically. Gretna won the division, so Morton entered play-offs along with Peterhead (3rd), Partick Thistle (4th), and Stranraer (9th in Division One). Morton's first play-off match was against Peterhead, and the Greenock side was defeated 1–0 over two legs, the only goal a penalty in the second match at Balmoor.

The following season, a week after a 9–1 defeat of Forfar Athletic at Cappielow Park, Morton achieved promotion to the First Division, and went on to become Second Division Champions.

Jim McInally resigned on 11 February 2008 after a run of poor results allowed Morton to slip into 9th place in the First Division and was replaced by Davie Irons, with Derek Collins joining him as Assistant Manager. Morton battled relegation for most of the season and survived on the final day with a 3–0 victory against Partick Thistle, to avoid the relegation playoff by a single goal. Irons was sacked in September 2009 and replaced October by James Grady until the end of the season. Grady was removed from the club in May 2010, and replaced by Allan Moore. Allan Moore was sacked after a 5–1 defeat at home to Livingston on 23 November 2013. His replacement Kenny Shiels was given a contract until the end of season 2014–2015, but failed to reverse the slide towards relegation from the Scottish Championship, which became a reality on 12 April 2014 after a 2–0 away defeat by Alloa Athletic. Shiels resigned after a 10–2 defeat by Hamilton Accies.

After the resignation of Shiels, Jim Duffy was appointed as manager. He won the Scottish League One to return the club the Championship at the first time of asking. This league victory earned Morton's tenth league title, making it the joint third most crowned league champions in Scotland along with Hibernian, but behind Rangers (57) and Celtic (51). Duffy was sacked in April 2018 after the club finished in 7th place in the Championship after a promising start. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Chairman Douglas Rae retired after 17 years and handed the role to his son Crawford, before dying less than two months later.

Jim Duffy was replaced by Ray McKinnon in May 2018 on a one-year contract; however McKinnon left to join league rivals Falkirk after just three months, being replaced by ex-reserve team manager Jonatan Johansson on a two-year deal.

Colours
The team's home strip is traditionally a blue and white hooped shirt with white shorts and white socks, though season 2006–07 saw the team playing a blue and white striped shirt with white shorts and blue socks. Short-lived yet distinctive designs have been used over the years, including sky blue and white stripes in the style of the Argentina national team and even a blue Morton tartan. The away strip tends to vary much more: for the 2003–04 season it was an all yellow outfit, changing in 2004–05 to all white, which in turn became the 3rd team strip in 2005–06, with the special re-issue of the blue Morton tartan strip.

For the 2021–22 season, the club issued a commemorative 'throwback' home kit with a similar design to that worn in their 1922 Scottish Cup Final victory, with no sponsor.

Stadium
Morton's stadium is Cappielow Park in Greenock, a ground the club has occupied since 1879. The current capacity is, with 5,741 of these being seated. In December 2008, Morton purchased the Reid Kerr sponsored east stand from local rivals St Mirren for £50,000, to improve the away end at Cappielow.

The area currently behind the western goal (upon which the new stand will be built) is known as the Wee Dublin End, which contains non-backed bench seating, converted from the old terracing that once stood there. The main stand contains plastic bucket seating to replace the old wooden benches that were a fixture of the ground until the late 1990s. The "Cowshed" lies to the north of the pitch; formerly a fully terraced arena for both home and away supporters (complete with segregation fence down the middle), it is now for home supporters only, with much of the frontal terracing removed, and plastic bucket seats occupying its place. The segregation fence no longer exists, and the whole area is used by home supporters. Behind the eastern goal is the "Sinclair Street" end, with uncovered terracing.

Supporters and rivalries
Greenock Morton has several supporters' clubs based in Greenock and the surrounding towns. The main clubs are The Andy Ritchie Travel Club, The Prince of Wales Travel Club, The Greenock Morton Supporters Club, The Gourock Morton Supporters (Formerly The Albert Hotel Morton Supporters Club) and The Spinnaker Hotel Supporters Club.

The club has a fierce rivalry with neighbours St Mirren, with whom they contest the Renfrewshire derby. It is a rivalry which sees a large amount of animosity between the two sets of fans.

The club also contests a smaller rivalry with Partick Thistle.

The club shares friendships with Reggiana and PEC Zwolle.

League participation

 * First Tier: 1900–1927, 1929–1933, 1937–1938, 1946–1949, 1950–1952, 1964–1966, 1967–1975, 1978–1983, 1984–1985, 1987–1988
 * Second Tier: 1893–1900, 1927–1929, 1933–1937, 1938–39, 1949–1950, 1952–1964, 1966–1967, 1975–1978, 1983–1984, 1985–1987, 1988–1994, 1995–2001, 2007–2014, 2015–present
 * Third Tier: 1994–1995, 2001–2002, 2003–2007, 2014–2015
 * Fourth Tier: 2002–2003

National honours

 * Scottish Cup
 * Winners: 1921–22
 * Runners-up: 1947–48
 * Scottish League Cup
 * Runners-up: 1963–64
 * Scottish Challenge Cup
 * Runners-up: 1992
 * Scottish Football League
 * Runners-up: 1916–17²
 * Scottish First Division/Division Two
 * Champions: (6) 1949–50¹, 1963–64¹, 1966–67¹, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1986–1987
 * Runners-up: (4) 1899–1900¹, 1928–29¹, 1936–37¹, 2012–13
 * Scottish Second Division/League One
 * Champions: (3) 1994–95, 2006–07, 2014–15³
 * Runners-up: 2005–06
 * Scottish Third Division
 * Champions: 2002–03

Minor honours

 * Renfrewshire Cup
 * Winners: 52 times
 * Runners-up: 42 times
 * Great War Shield
 * Winners: 1914–15
 * Runners-up: 1917–18
 * Southern Football League
 * Runners-up: 1942-43
 * Southern League Cup
 * Runners-up: 1941–42
 * SFL Reserve League South
 * Runners-up: 2012–13
 * SPFL Development League West
 * Champions: 2015–16, 2017-18
 * Runners-up: 2016–17
 * Club Academy Scotland U16/17 South/West League
 * Champions: 2014–15
 * Runners-up: 2015–16

¹ Known as Division II at the time

² Known as Division I at the time

³ Known as SPFL League One at the time

Records

 * Best league position – 2nd in First Division (Old) (1916–1917)
 * Best Scottish Cup performance – winners (1921–1922)
 * Best League Cup performance – runners-up (1963–1964)
 * Best Challenge Cup performance – runners-up (1992–1993)
 * Victory – 21–0 v Howwood (1886–87 Renfrewshire Cup)
 * Defeat – 1–10 v Port Glasgow Athletic (5 May 1894), St Bernard's (14 October 1933)
 * Home attendance – 23,500 v Celtic (1922)
 * Goals in one season – Allan McGraw (58 in 1963–1964)
 * Most league appearances – Derek Collins (534)
 * Most league goals – Allan McGraw (117)
 * Record signing – Janne Lindberg – £250k (including Marko Rajamäki) from MyPa-47
 * Record sale – Derek Lilley – £500k to Leeds United

Player records
All statistics are for league matches, post-World War II.

Top league goalscorers by season (post war)
In progress
 * Scottish unless stated

National Individual Honours

 * 2016–17 – Jim Duffy (Ladbrokes Championship Manager of the Season)
 * 2014–15 – Declan McManus (SPFL League One Player of the Year)
 * 2002–03 – Alex Williams (SPFA Third Division Player of the Year)
 * 1994–95 – Derek McInnes (SPFA Second Division Player of the Year)
 * 1994–95 – Allan McGraw (SPFA Second Division Manager of the Year)
 * 1986–87 – Jim Holmes (SPFA First Division Player of the Year)
 * 1984–85 – Jim Duffy (SPFA Players' Player of the Year)
 * 1978–79 – Andy Ritchie (SFWA Footballer of the Year)

Recent internationals
The last signed player to earn a full international cap whilst playing for Morton – Fouad Bachirou for Comoros in 2014.

The last signed Morton player to receive international honours for Scotland was Jai Quitongo in 2016, for the under-21 side.

Notable players
To be included in this list players must have met one of the following criteria...
 * Played over 100 league games for Morton
 * Scored in a national cup final
 * Managed the club after playing for them
 * Been from a nation outside the British Isles
 * Won full international honours

 * Stephen Aitken
 * Rowan Alexander
 * Efe Ambrose
 * George Anderson
 * John Anderson
 * Preben Arentoft
 * 🇰🇲 Fouad Bachirou
 * 🏴 Roy Baines
 * Darren Barr
 * Per Bartram
 * Carl Bertelsen
 * John Boag
 * 🇨🇲 Andre Boe
 * 🇨🇦 Emilio Bottiglieri
 * 🇫🇷 Karim Boukraa
 * 🇺🇸 David Brcic
 * Jock Buchanan
 * 🇫🇷 Nicolas Caraux
 * 🇺🇸 Dominic Cervi
 * Kabba-Modou Cham
 * Ian Clinging
 * Derek Collins
 * Jimmy Cowan
 * Craig Coyle
 * Jim Duffy
 * 🏴 Robert Earnshaw
 * Dave Edwards
 * 🇨🇦 Paul Fenwick
 * Kevin Finlayson
 * 🇳🇴 Markus Fjørtoft
 * Ross Forbes
 * George French
 * 🇨🇦 Luca Gasparotto
 * Derek Gaston
 * James Gillespie
 * Stewart Greacen
 * Jimmy Gourlay
 * James Grady
 * 🇸🇰 Michal Habai
 * Ryan Harding
 * Joe Harper
 * Paul Hartley
 * 🏴 Warren Hawke
 * 🇮🇸 Atli Thor Hedinsson
 * Jim Holmes
 * David Hopkin
 * Bobby Houston
 * Dougie Imrie
 * 🇦🇺 Jack Iredale
 * Kyle Jacobs
 * Bjarne Jensen
 * Kai Johansen
 * Justin Johnson
 * Dougie Johnstone
 * Joe Jordan
 * Joel Kasubandi
 * 🇲🇹 Dylan Kerr
 * Lee Kilday
 * Ricki Lamie
 * 🏴 Tommy Lawton
 * 🇮🇸 Gudgeir Leifsson
 * Derek Lilley
 * 🇫🇮 Janne Lindberg
 * Alec Linwood
 * Adam Little
 * David MacGregor
 * John Madsen
 * Alan Mahood
 * 🇦🇺 John Maisano
 * Joe Mason
 * 🏴 Stanley Matthews
 * Ally Maxwell
 * Jim McAlister
 * Steve McCahill
 * Ian McDonald
 * Mark McGhee
 * Allan McGraw
 * Bob McGregor
 * Derek McInnes
 * Jock McIntyre
 * Bobby McKay
 * Andy McLaren
 * Joe McLaughlin
 * Alex McNab
 * John McNeil
 * Craig McPherson
 * Dave McPherson
 * 🇫🇷 Parfait Medou-Otye
 * Chris Millar
 * 🇷🇸 Stefan Milojević
 * Jimmy Mitchell
 * Allan Moore
 * Flemming Nielsen
 * Leif Nielsen
 * 🇪🇸 Nacho Novo
 * David O'Brien
 * Garry O'Connor
 * Alex O'Hara
 * 🇫🇮 Jaakko Oksanen
 * Rabin Omar
 * Neil Orr
 * Tommy Orr
 * Thomas O'Ware
 * 🇦🇺 Erik Paartalu
 * 🇸🇰 Tomáš Peciar
 * Stuart Rafferty
 * 🇫🇮 Marko Rajamäki
 * Brian Reid
 * 🇳🇿 Stu Riddle
 * Andy Ritchie
 * Doug Robertson
 * Mark Russell
 * Romario Sabajo
 * 🇺🇸 Brian Schwake
 * 🏴 Stan Seymour
 * Bernie Slaven
 * Erik Sørensen
 * Jørn Sørensen
 * Billy Steel
 * Morris Stevenson
 * Robert Stevenson
 * Robert Stewart
 * Hugh Strachan
 * Gerry Sweeney
 * Bobby Thomson
 * Børge Thorup
 * Michael Tidser
 * Jim Tolmie
 * 🇫🇷 Jonathan Toto
 * Tommy Turner
 * 🇫🇮 Jani Uotinen
 * Henk van Schaik
 * 🏴 Peter Weatherson
 * 🇦🇹 David Witteveen
 * Jackie Wright
 * David Wylie

Scottish Football Hall of Fame
Ex-Morton players who have been inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame are listed below.
 * Joe Jordan (2005)
 * Jimmy Cowan (2007)

For all Greenock Morton players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:Greenock Morton F.C. players.

Managers
This list does not contain caretaker managers.

 * George Morell (1904–1908)
 * Bob Cochrane (1908–1927)
 * David Torrance (1928–1931)
 * Bob Cochrane (1931–1934)
 * Jackie Wright (1934–1938)
 * Jimmy Davies (1939–1955)
 * Gibby McKenzie (1955–1957)
 * Jimmy McIntosh (1957–1960)
 * Hal Stewart (1961–1972)
 * Eric Smith (1972)
 * Hal Stewart (1972–1974)
 * Erik Sørensen (1974–1975)
 * Joe Gilroy (1975–1976)
 * Benny Rooney (1976–1983)
 * Allan Feeney (1983)
 * Tommy McLean (1983–1984)
 * Willie McLean (1984–1985)
 * Allan McGraw (1985–1997)
 * Billy Stark (1997–2000)
 * Ian McCall (2000)
 * Allan Evans (2000–2001)
 * Ally Maxwell (2001)
 * Peter Cormack (2001–2002)
 * Dave McPherson (2002)
 * John McCormack (2002–2004)
 * Jim McInally (2004–2008)
 * Davie Irons (2008–2009)
 * James Grady (2009–2010)
 * Allan Moore (2010–2013)
 * Kenny Shiels (2013–2014)
 * Jim Duffy (2014–2018)
 * Ray McKinnon (2018)
 * 🇫🇮 Jonatan Johansson (2018–2019)
 * David Hopkin (2019–2020)
 * Gus MacPherson (2021)
 * Dougie Imrie (2021–)

Scottish Cup record
Morton first entered the Scottish Cup in 1877–78 season, and won it once in 1922. Over the course of Morton's time in the competition it has changed format seven times, to its current format of 8 rounds and 2 preliminary rounds.
 * Between 2012–13 and 2014–15 there were 8 rounds plus a preliminary round.
 * Between 2007–08 and 2011–12 there were 8 rounds.
 * Between 1970–71 and 2006–07 there were 7 rounds.
 * Between 1957–58 and 1969–70 there were 5 rounds plus a preliminary round.
 * Between 1954–55 and 1956–57 there were 9 rounds.
 * Between 1912–13 and 1953–54 there were 6 rounds.
 * Between 1895–96 and 1911–12 there were 5 rounds.

So far Morton have finished the competition in the following rounds, this many times.
 * Finals – 2 (last 1948)
 * Semi-finals – 5 (last 1981)
 * Quarter-finals – 16 (last 2024)

title: Greenock Morton F.C.


text:
Institute for the Works of Religion

The Institute for the Works of Religion (Istituto per le Opere di Religione; Institutum pro Operibus Religionis; abbreviated IOR), commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a financial institution that is situated inside Vatican City and run by a Board of Superintendence, which reports to a Commission of Cardinals and the Pope. It is not a private bank, as there are no owners or shareholders; it has been established in the form of a juridical canonical foundation, pursuant to its statutes. Since 9 July 2014, its president is Jean-Baptiste de Franssu. The IOR is regulated by the Vatican's financial supervisory body ASIF (Autorità di Supervisione e Informazione Finanziaria).

The Institute was founded in June 1942 by papal decree of Pope Pius XII. In June 2012, the IOR gave a first presentation of its operations. In July 2013, the Institute launched its own website. On 1 October 2013, it also published its first-ever annual report.

On 24 June 2013, Pope Francis created a special investigative Pontifical Commission (CRIOR) to study IOR reform. On 7 April 2014, Pope Francis approved respective recommendations on the IOR's future which were jointly developed by the CRIOR and COSEA commissions and the IOR's management. "The IOR will continue to serve with prudence and provide specialized financial services to the Catholic Church worldwide", as the Vatican release stated. On 7 April 2014, Pope Francis approved a proposal on the Institute's future, "reaffirming the importance of the IOR’s mission for the good of the Catholic Church, the Holy See and the Vatican City State".

Origin and mission
The Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) was founded on 27 June 1942 by Pope Pius XII. It absorbed the Amministrazione per le Opere di Religione (Administration of the Works of Religion), which had originated in the Commission for Works of Charity (Commissione ad pias causas) established by Pope Leo XIII on 11 February 1887. The IOR is not a department of the Roman Curia, the central administrative structure of the Roman Catholic Church. Nor is it a central bank.

The purpose of the IOR is "to provide for the safekeeping and administration of movable and immovable property transferred or entrusted to it by physical or juridical persons and intended for works of religion or charity".

In 2014, the Vatican officially confirmed the IOR's mission as provider of "specialized financial services to the Catholic Church worldwide." Furthermore, it was affirmed by the Vatican that the "valuable services that can be offered by the Institute assist the Holy Father in his mission as universal pastor and also aid those institutions and individuals who collaborate with him in his ministry".

Organization
According to its Statutes, in effect since 2023, the IOR is composed of four bodies:

A Commission of Cardinals with five members, appointed for renewable five-year terms, who elect their president. As announced on 21 September 2020 the Commission's members, appointed for two years ad experimentum, are:

 * Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna – President
 * Luis Antonio Tagle, Pro-Prefect for the Section of Evangelization of Dicastery for Evangelization
 * Konrad Krajewski, Papal Almoner
 * Giuseppe Petrocchi, Archbishop of L'Aquila
 * Emil Paul Tscherrig, former nuncio to Italy and San Marino 2024.

Pietro Parolin's office of Secretary of State was omitted from the new Commission.

The Prelate of the IOR, Mgr. Battista Ricca, appointed by the Supervisory Commission of Cardinals with the Pope's approval, acts as secretary of the Commission and attends meetings of the Board of Superintendence.

A Board of Superintendence, defining the strategy and ensuring oversight of operations. The mandate of the current members of the Board of Superintendence expired in December 2020.

 * Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, President
 * Mauricio Larrain, Vice-President
 * Lord Michael Hintze
 * Scott C. Malpass
 * Javier Marín Romano
 * Georg Freiherr von Boeselager

A Directorate, in charge of operational activities and accountable to the Board of Superintendence.

 * Gian Franco Mammì - General Director

Historical allegations
When the Holy See, whose tax-exempt status on income from Italian investments was revoked in 1968, decided to diversify its holdings, it employed as financial adviser Michele Sindona. Once among the country's most powerful businessmen, subsequent investigations into his business affairs brought to light questionable associations with the Mafia as well as the secret P2, a bogus "Masonic" lodge that the Italian Parliament branded as a subversive organization. The 1974 failure of Sindona's Franklin National Bank and the subsequent collapse of his financial empire, into which he had channeled part of the Holy See's investments, entailed losses for the Vatican estimated by one source at 35 billion Italian lire (£20 million).

In 1982, a political and financial scandal connected with the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano involved the head of IOR from 1971 to 1989, Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, who allegedly had given "letters of patronage" on behalf of the IOR in support of the failed bank. In 1987, an Italian court issued a warrant against Marcinkus, whom they accused of being an accessory to fraudulent bankruptcy. Marcinkus evaded arrest by staying inside Vatican City until the warrant was dismissed in 1991, whereupon he returned to his home country, the United States. Chairman of the Banco Ambrosiano and member of the illegal Masonic lodge P2, Roberto Calvi was convicted of violating Italian currency laws and fled on a false passport to London where he was found murdered under Blackfriars Bridge in London some days after he went missing from Milan. The Istituto per le Opere di Religione, then a 10% shareholder of Banco Ambrosiano, denied legal responsibility for the Banco Ambrosiano's downfall but acknowledged "moral involvement", and paid US$224 million to creditors.

Several works published during the 1980s and 1990s were highly critical of the Institute for the Works of Religion's historical relations with anti-communist governments.

In reference other alleged covert activities, Tony Abse, writing in The Weekly Worker, an organ of the Communist Party of Great Britain, has said that the CIA used the Institute for the Works of Religion to funnel funds to the Solidarity Polish trade union "as part of the final offensive against the Soviet Union". The organization American Atheists says covert United States funds were channelled in the same way both to Solidarity and to Contra guerrillas.

Alperin v. Vatican Bank was a class action suit by Holocaust survivors against the Institute for the Works of Religion filed in San Francisco, California on 15 November 1999. The case was dismissed as a political question by the District Court for the Northern District of California in 2003, but reinstated in part by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2005. That ruling has attracted attention as a precedent at the intersection of the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). The complaint against the Vatican Bank was dismissed in 2007 on the basis of sovereign immunity.

Judicial events and reorganisation (2010–2018)
In September 22, 2010, Italian magistrates seized €23 million from the IOR, on the grounds that the anti-money laundering laws in force had been violated. The money was originally to be transferred from the Italian Credito Artigiano to JPMorgan Chase and another Italian bank, Banca del Fucino. Both the origin and destination of the funds were accounts under the control of the IOR. It was furthermore declared that Gotti Tedeschi and another IOR manager were under investigation for money laundering charges. On 31 May 2011, Rome's attorney general released the €23 million in assets which had been seized in September, apparently in acknowledgment of the steps taken in the following months to conform the Institute to international standards.

On 24 May 2012, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was ousted as Head of the Vatican Bank because of his alleged "failure to fulfill the primary functions of his office". In July 2013, the money laundering case against Gotti Tedeschi was dropped. In March 2014, he was again acquitted by the Roman court that followed the public prosecutor's position and relieved Gotti Tedeschi from any responsibility in that operation.

On 15 June 2013, with the approval of Pope Francis, the Cardinals' Commission appointed Monsignor Battista Mario Salvatore Ricca as the Institute's Prelate ad interim. There was also speculation that opponents of reform might have withheld information about possible scandals in Ricca's past or that they might have made up unfounded rumours about Ricca's past. It was reported that Ricca had offered his resignation because of the controversy,  but the head of the Holy See's Press Office declared the accusations as "not credible" and Pope Francis himself informed journalists that an inquiry "found nothing".

On 28 June 2013, three persons were arrested by the Italian police on suspicion of corruption and fraud. Allegedly, they had planned to smuggle €20 million in cash from Switzerland into Italy. One of the arrested was Monsignore Nunzio Scarano, previously senior accountant at APSA, the Vatican's Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See. Subsequently, he was indicted with corruption and slander and set under house arrest. On 21 January 2014, he was further charged with money laundering through IOR accounts in yet another investigation. According to a police statement, millions of euros in "false donations" from offshore companies had moved through Scarano's accounts. Already in July 2013, the IOR had frozen the money in Scarano's accounts. As news agency Reuters reported, Elena Guarino, the Salerno magistrate who led the investigation, told reporters "the Vatican was fully cooperative and gave her much information on Scarano's bank movements.". In January 2016, Scarano was acquitted of allegations of corruption, but was given a two-year sentence after being convicted of lesser charges of making false allegations. His money laundering trial in his hometown of Salerno was still pending at this time. The other person arrested was a bank person and a former secret service agent.

In February 2017, a court in Rome convicted two former top Vatican Bank officials Paolo Cipriani and Massimo Tulliof for omissions in communications involving three small transfers. Cipriani was a former Vatican bank director and Tulliof was Cipriani's former deputy. They were, however, acquitted of a more serious money laundering charge, which involved $60 million in transfers, and were sentenced to four months and ten days in prison. They were also forced to return $6,000 each.

In 2018, Vatican prosecutors indicted former Vatican Bank President Angelo Caloia, and an attorney, Gabriele Liuzzo, for embezzling $62 million, using a real estate scam, between 2001 and 2006. The trial is still pending.

Institutional milestones
In August 2019, the IOR was re-structured by a chirograph of Pope Francis, which established the IOR's present Statutes. According to Article 4 of the Chirograph, the Institute consists of four bodies: A Supervisory Commission of Cardinals, a Board of Superintendence, a Prelate and a Directorate.

Reform steps 2010/2011
On 1 January 2010, a renegotiated monetary agreement between the EU and the Vatican City State entered into force, supplementing the monetary agreement between the Vatican City State and Italy from the year 2000. Having signed the agreement, the Vatican transposed EU legislation on euro counterfeiting and money laundering by the end of 2010 and accepted the European Court of Justice as the only jurisdiction responsible for settling disputes under the agreement.

On 30 December 2010, Pope Benedict XVI established the Vatican's independent Financial Intelligence Authority (Autorità di Informazione Finanziaria, AIF) to oversee the monetary and commercial activities of all Vatican-related institutions, including the IOR. The Vatican's so-called "financial watchdog" monitors all Vatican financial operations and ensures they conform with international norms against money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.

In June 2011, the Roman prosecutors ordered the release of the seized €23 million that should have been transferred via an IOR account at Credito Artigiano. According to the prosecutors, this request of release was due to the newly instituted mechanisms that should help the Institute to conform to international anti-money laundering and antiterrorist financing standards, such as the AIF's establishment.

Reform steps 2012
In July 2012, Moneyval, the Council of Europe's Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism, published and issued a report on the Vatican City State, by request of the Vatican itself. This was the first time that the Holy See had submitted its institutions and laws to the judgment of an international external auditor. The Italian news magazine l'Espresso called this "an historic watershed". The Vatican received grades of "compliant" or "largely compliant" on 22 out of 45 guidelines and adhered to international standards in 9 out of the 16 core points.

Moneyval stated that the Vatican "has come a long way in a very short period of time" and stated that the city state met the international requirements in 9 out of 16 core topics. At the same time, Moneyval requested further reforms to be enacted The Vatican expressed a goal to get into the so-called OECD white list which includes countries that comply with international anti-money laundering standards and regulations against tax offences.

In November 2012, a Swiss anti-money laundering expert, René Brülhart, was appointed director of the AIF. Previously, he had worked for the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) in Liechtenstein as well as for the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units.

Reform steps 2013
On 15 February 2013, Ernst von Freyberg was appointed the IOR's President. Since the beginning of his tenure at the IOR, von Freyberg has focused on comprehensively reforming the Institute, stating he would focus on transparency and a "zero tolerance" approach to any suspicious transactions.

In May 2013, the international consulting and auditing firm Promontory was assigned a forensic review and screening of the Institute's client relationships. In this context, all accounts of the IOR's 19,000 customers were being checked if they meet the respective criteria.

On 24 June 2013, Pope Francis created a Pontifical Commission, often referred to as the CRIOR commission, to review the IOR's status and activities. Its task was to "gather accurate information on the legal status and various activities of the Institute to permit, when necessary, a better harmonization of the said Institute with the universal mission of the Apostolic See". Its five members were Raffaele Farina (President) Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran, Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, Peter Bryan Wells (secretary) and Mary Ann Glendon. The commission terminated its work in May 2014.

In July 2013, the Holy See's Financial Intelligence Authority (AIF), charged with monitoring the monetary and commercial activities of Vatican agencies, was admitted as a full member of the Egmont Group, an international network of financial intelligence units.

On 1 October 2013, the IOR published its first ever annual report. The annual report is available for download on the Institute's homepage which was launched in July 2013. The report's figures were audited by the global accounting firm KPMG. According to the report, the Institute in 2012 had a net profit of €86.6 million, of which it has transferred €54.7 million to the budget of the Holy See to help the pope carry out the church's global mission. Both measures – the annual report's publication and the launch of the website – were reviewed as remarkable signs of enhanced transparency and compliance: The Guardian called the website launch a "giant leap" and Reuters named it a "transparency drive". On 12 June 2017 IOR published its fifth annual report, showing net gains of €36 million for the year 2016.

Also in October 2013, newspapers reported that the IOR had requested around 1,300 customers to close their IOR accounts. Allegedly, this request was directed at lay account holders, who do not fit into any of the five categories of clients the IOR is legally allowed to have. The closures are said to be a result of the review process conducted by Promontory.

On 12 December 2013, Moneyval published its Progress Report that assessed the Holy See's progress made on measures to combat money laundering. It was stated that the IOR has made significant progress but at the same time needed more institutionalized internal controls, especially with regard to the AIF's watchdog function. Overall, the report was rated as the approval of the economic and financial reforms enacted since Pope Francis' taking office.

Reform steps 2014
On 22 January 2014, the IOR published a report on the progress of the compliance and transparency program. IOR President Ernst von Freyberg commented on the release, stating that "it is very possible to reform an institution like the IOR" and that the Institute has "used the past year to create the system and to analyse our customers for possible irregularities". Von Freyberg also stated much work needs to be done as regards transparency and compliance.

On 7 April 2014, Pope Francis ruled the IOR will stay operative and approved recommendations on the Institute's future, which were drawn up jointly by the papal commissions CRIOR and COSEA, by the IOR's management and by Australian Cardinal George Pell, head of the Vatican's Secretariat for the Economy. The decision was interpreted as a "backing" of the process of reform that had been intensified under Pope Francis and von Freyberg. The IOR itself stated that the Pope's decision "represents a powerful endorsement of our very mission and the hard work accomplished over the past 12 months." Von Freyberg stepped down in July as head of the IOR and Pope Francis named Jean-Baptiste de Franssu to replace him.

In September 2014, the Cardinals' Commission of the IOR appointed Mauricio Larraín (Chile) and Carlo Salvatori (Italy) as members to the IOR Board of Superintendence. Other members included Jean-Baptiste de Franssu (France), President of the Board, Clemens Boersig (Germany), Mary Ann Glendon (USA) and Michael Hintze (UK). In addition to these six lay members of the Board, Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, Secretary-General of the Secretariat for the Economy, served as its non-voting Secretary. From January 2017 additional members added to the board were: Scott C. Malpass (USA), Javier Marín Romano (Spain), and Georg Freiherr von Boeselager (Germany).

2023
In March 2023, a chirograph of Pope Francis was published, whose goal is "to further renew the Statute of the Institute for the Works of Religion to make it consistent with the most modern organizational requirements as well as with the operational needs that arise daily in the Institute's activities".

title: Institute for the Works of Religion


text:
Talk:Beck

The complete absence of Cafe Troy...
I knew him during the period around 1990 to 1992. He used to serve me espresso at Cafe Troy on First Street near Alameda in Little Tokyo. The cafe was owned and operated by his mom Bibi Hansen and his step father Sean Carrillo. Cafe Troy is not mentioned at all in the Beck entry, and therefore there is no mention of its importance in Beck's story. He performed on Cafe Troy's stage...

Dead Cities?
What is this link doing in the discography section? It’s not a Beck album.

title: Talk:Beck


text:
List of biomolecules

This is a list of articles that describe particular biomolecules or types of biomolecules.

A
For substances with an A- or α- prefix such as α-amylase, please see the parent page (in this case Amylase).

 * A23187 (Calcimycin, Calcium Ionophore)
 * Abamectine
 * Abietic acid
 * Acetic acid
 * Acetylcholine
 * Actin
 * Actinomycin D
 * Adenine
 * Adenosmeme
 * Adenosine diphosphate (ADP)
 * Adenosine monophosphate (AMP)
 * Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
 * Adenylate cyclase
 * Adiponectin
 * Adonitol
 * Adrenaline, epinephrine
 * Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
 * Aequorin
 * Aflatoxin
 * Agar
 * Alamethicin
 * Alanine
 * Albumins
 * Aldosterone
 * Aleurone
 * Alpha-amanitin
 * Alpha-MSH (Melaninocyte stimulating hormone)
 * Allantoin
 * Allethrin
 * α-Amanatin, see Alpha-amanitin
 * Amino acid
 * Amylase (also see α-amylase)
 * Anabolic steroid
 * Anandamide (ANA)
 * Androgen
 * Anethole
 * Angiotensinogen
 * Anisomycin
 * Antidiuretic hormone (ADH)
 * Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH)
 * Arabinose
 * Arginine
 * Argonaute
 * Ascomycin
 * Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)
 * Asparagine
 * Aspartic acid
 * Asymmetric dimethylarginine
 * ATP synthase
 * Atrial-natriuretic peptide (ANP)
 * Auxin
 * Avidin
 * Azadirachtin A – C35H44O16

B

 * Bacteriocin
 * Beauvericin
 * beta-Hydroxy beta-methylbutyric acid
 * beta-Hydroxybutyric acid
 * Bicuculline
 * Bilirubin
 * Biopolymer
 * Biotin (Vitamin H)
 * Brefeldin A
 * Brassinolide
 * Brucine
 * Butyric acid

C

 * Cadaverine
 * Caffeine
 * Calciferol (Vitamin D)
 * Calcitonin
 * Calmodulin
 * Calreticulin
 * Camphor - (C10H16O)
 * Cannabinol - (C21H26O2)
 * Capsaicin
 * Carbohydrase
 * Carbohydrate
 * Carnitine
 * Carrageenan
 * Carotinoid
 * Casein
 * Caspase
 * Catecholamine
 * Cellulase
 * Cellulose - (C6H10O5)x
 * Cerulenin
 * Cetrimonium bromide (Cetrimide) - C19H42BrN
 * Chelerythrine
 * Chromomycin A3
 * Chaparonin
 * Chitin
 * α-Chloralose
 * Chlorophyll
 * Cholecystokinin (CCK)
 * Cholesterol
 * Choline
 * Chondroitin sulfate
 * Cinnamaldehyde
 * Citral
 * Citric acid
 * Citrinin
 * Citronellal
 * Citronellol
 * Citrulline
 * Cobalamin (vitamin B12)
 * Coenzyme
 * Coenzyme Q
 * Colchicine
 * Collagen
 * Coniine
 * Corticosteroid
 * Corticosterone
 * Corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH)
 * Cortisol
 * Creatine
 * Creatine kinase
 * Crystallin
 * Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)
 * α-Cyclodextrin
 * Cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase
 * Cyclooxygenase
 * Cyclopamine
 * Cyclopiazonic acid
 * Cysteine
 * Cystine
 * Cytidine
 * Cytochalasin
 * Cytochalasin E
 * Cytochrome
 * Cytochrome C
 * Cytochrome c oxidase
 * Cytochrome c peroxidase
 * Cytokine
 * Cytosine – C4H5N3O

D

 * Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA)
 * Deoxycholic acid
 * DON (DeoxyNivalenol)
 * Deoxyribofuranose
 * Deoxyribose
 * Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
 * Dextran
 * Dextrin
 * Dicer
 * Dihydrotestosterone
 * DNA
 * DNA polymerase
 * DNA ligase
 * Dopamine

E

 * Endonuclease
 * Enzyme
 * Ephedrine
 * Epinephrine – C9H13NO3
 * Erucic acid – CH3(CH2)7CH=CH(CH2)11COOH
 * Erythritol
 * Erythropoietin (EPO)
 * Estradiol
 * Estriol
 * Estrogen
 * Estrone
 * Eugenol
 * Exonuclease

F

 * Fatty acid
 * Ferredoxin
 * Fibrin
 * Fibronectin
 * Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD)
 * Folic acid (Vitamin M)
 * Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH)
 * Formaldehyde
 * Formic acid
 * Formnoci
 * Fructose
 * Fumonisin B1

G

 * Galactose
 * Gangalioside
 * Gamma globulin
 * Gamma-aminobutyric acid
 * Gamma-butyrolactone
 * Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB)
 * Gastrin
 * Gelatin
 * Geraniol
 * Ghrelin
 * Globulin
 * Glucagon
 * Glucagon-like peptide 1
 * Glucagon-like peptide 2
 * Glucosamine
 * Glucose – C6H12O6
 * Glucose oxidase
 * Glutamic acid
 * Glutamine
 * Glutamate (neurotransmitter)
 * Glutathione
 * Gluten
 * Glycan
 * Glycerin (glycerol)
 * Glycine
 * Glycogen
 * Glycogenin
 * Glycogen synthase
 * Glycogen phosphorylase
 * Glycolic acid
 * Glycolipid
 * Glycoprotein
 * Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)
 * Granzyme
 * Green fluorescent protein
 * Growth factor
 * Growth hormone
 * Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH)
 * GTPase
 * Guanine
 * Guanosine
 * Guanosine triphosphate (+GTP)
 * Gurungase

H

 * Haptoglobin
 * Helicase
 * Hematoxylin
 * Heme
 * Hemerythrin
 * Hemocyanin
 * Hemoglobin
 * Hemoprotein
 * Heparan sulfate
 * High density lipoprotein, HDL
 * Histamine
 * Histidine
 * Histone
 * Histone methyltransferase
 * HLA antigen
 * Homocysteine
 * Hormone
 * human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)
 * Human growth hormone
 * Hyaluronate
 * Hyaluronic acid
 * Hyaluronidase
 * Hydrogen peroxide
 * 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine
 * Hydroxyproline
 * 5-Hydroxytryptamine

I

 * Indigo dye
 * Indole
 * Inosine
 * Inositol
 * Insulin
 * Insulin-like growth factor
 * Integral membrane protein
 * Integrase
 * Integrin
 * Intein
 * Interferon
 * Interleukin
 * Inulin
 * Ionomycin
 * Ionone
 * Isoleucine
 * Isomerase
 * Isoprene
 * Iron–sulfur cluster

J

 * Jipitol

K

 * K252a
 * K252b
 * KT5720
 * KT5823
 * Keratin
 * Kinase
 * Kisspeptin
 * Kouhestanimine

L
For substances with an l- or L- prefix such as L-alanine or DL-alanine, please see the parent page (in this case alanine).

 * Lactase
 * Lactic acid
 * Lactose
 * Lanolin
 * Lauric acid
 * Lectin
 * Leptin
 * Leptomycin B
 * Leucine
 * Leukotriene
 * Ligase
 * Lignin
 * Limonene
 * Linalool
 * Linoleic acid
 * Linolenic acid
 * Lipase
 * Lipid
 * Lipid anchored protein
 * Lipoamide
 * Lipoprotein
 * Low density lipoprotein, LDL
 * Luteinizing hormone (LH)
 * Lycopene
 * Lysine
 * Lysozyme

M

 * Malic acid
 * Maltose
 * Melanocyte- stimulating hormone (MSH)
 * Melatonin
 * Membrane protein
 * Messenger RNA (mRNA)
 * Metalloprotein
 * Metallothionein
 * Methionine
 * Mimosine
 * Mithramycin A
 * Mitomycin C
 * Monomer
 * Morphine
 * Mycophenolic acid
 * Myoglobin
 * Myosin
 * Mersalase
 * Milnolate

N

 * Natural phenols
 * Neurotransmitters
 * Neuropeptide Y
 * Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)
 * Norepinephrine
 * Nucleic Acid
 * Nucleosome
 * Nucleoside
 * Nucleotide

O

 * Ochratoxin A
 * Oestrogens
 * Oligopeptide
 * Oligomycin
 * Orcin
 * Orexin
 * Ornithine
 * Oxalic acid
 * Oxidase
 * Oxytocin

P

 * p53
 * PABA
 * Paclitaxel
 * Palmitic acid
 * Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5)
 * parathyroid hormone (PTH)
 * Paraprotein
 * Pardaxin
 * Parthenolide
 * Patulin
 * Paxilline
 * Penicillic acid
 * Penicillin
 * Penitrem A
 * Peptidase
 * Peptide YY (PYY)
 * Pepsin
 * Peptide
 * Perimycin
 * Peripheral membrane protein
 * Perosamine
 * Phenethylamine
 * Phenylalanine
 * Phosphagen
 * phosphatase
 * Phosphatidyl choline
 * Phospholipid
 * Phenylalanine
 * Phytic acid
 * Plant hormones
 * Plasma protein
 * Plastocyanin
 * Polypeptide
 * Polyphenols
 * Polysaccharides
 * Porphyrin
 * Pranavylate Kinase Kinase
 * Prion
 * Progesterone
 * Prolactin (PRL)
 * Proline
 * Propionic acid
 * Prostaglandins
 * Protamine
 * Protease
 * Proteasome
 * Protein
 * Proteinoid
 * Purine
 * Putrescine
 * Pyrethrin
 * Pyridoxine or pyridoxamine (Vitamin B6)
 * Pyrimidine
 * Pyrrolysine
 * Pyruvic acid

Q

 * Quinidine
 * Quinine
 * Quinone

R

 * Radicicol
 * Raffinose
 * Relaxin
 * Renin
 * Retinene
 * Retinol (Vitamin A)
 * Reverse transcriptase
 * Rhodopsin (visual purple)
 * Riboflavin (vitamin B2)
 * Ribofuranose, Ribose
 * Ribozyme
 * Ricin
 * RNA - Ribonucleic acid
 * RNA polymerase
 * RuBisCO
 * Ribosomal RNA

S

 * Safrole
 * Salicylaldehyde
 * Salicylic acid
 * Salvinorin-A – C23H28O8
 * Saponin
 * Secretin
 * Selenocysteine
 * Selenomethionine
 * Selenoprotein
 * Serine
 * Serine kinase
 * Serotonin
 * Skatole
 * Signal recognition particle
 * Somatostatin
 * Sorbic acid
 * Sphingolipid
 * Sphingosine
 * Squalene
 * Staurosporin
 * Stearic acid
 * Sterigmatocystin
 * Sterol
 * Strychnine
 * Sucrose (sugar)
 * Sugars (in general)
 * superoxide

T

 * T2 Toxin
 * Tannic acid
 * Tannin
 * Tartaric acid
 * Taurine
 * Tetrodotoxin
 * Telomerase
 * Thaumatin
 * Topoisomerase
 * Tyrosine kinase
 * Testosterone
 * Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
 * Tetracycline
 * Thapsigargin
 * Thaumatin
 * Thiamine (vitamin B1) – C12H17ClN4OS·HCl
 * Threonine
 * Thrombopoietin
 * Thromboxane
 * Thymidine
 * Thymine
 * Transfer RNA (tRNA)
 * Triacsin C
 * Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
 * Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)
 * Thyroxine (T4)
 * Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
 * Topoisomerase
 * Triiodothyronine (T3)
 * Transmembrane receptor
 * Trichostatin A
 * Trophic hormone
 * Trypsin
 * Tryptophan
 * Tubulin
 * Tunicamycin
 * Tyrosine

U

 * Ubiquitin
 * Uracil
 * Urea
 * Urease
 * Uric acid – C5H4N4O3
 * Uridine

V

 * Valine
 * Valinomycin
 * Vanabins
 * Vasopressin
 * Verruculogen
 * Vitamins (in general)
 * Vitamin A (retinol)
 * Vitamin B
 * Vitamin B1 (thiamine)
 * Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
 * Vitamin B3 (niacin or nicotinic acid)
 * Vitamin B4 (adenine)
 * Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid)
 * Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine or pyridoxamine)
 * Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)
 * Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)
 * Vitamin D (calciferol)
 * Vitamin E (tocopherol)
 * Vitamin F
 * Vitamin H (biotin)
 * Vitamin K (naphthoquinone)
 * Vitamin M (folic acid)

W

 * Water
 * Wortmannin

X

 * Xanthophyll
 * Xylose

Y

 * Yellow fluorescent protein

Z

 * Zearalenone

title: List of biomolecules


text:
Marchantiophyta

The Marchantiophyta are a division of non-vascular land plants commonly referred to as hepatics or liverworts. Like mosses and hornworts, they have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, in which cells of the plant carry only a single set of genetic information.

It is estimated that there are about 9000 species of liverworts. Some of the more familiar species grow as a flattened leafless thallus, but most species are leafy with a form very much like a flattened moss. Leafy species can be distinguished from the apparently similar mosses on the basis of a number of features, including their single-celled rhizoids. Leafy liverworts also differ from most (but not all) mosses in that their leaves never have a costa (present in many mosses) and may bear marginal cilia (very rare in mosses). Other differences are not universal for all mosses and liverworts, but the occurrence of leaves arranged in three ranks, the presence of deep lobes or segmented leaves, or a lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves all point to the plant being a liverwort. Liverworts are distinguished from mosses in having unique complex oil bodies of high refractive index.

Liverworts are typically small, usually from 2–20 mm wide with individual plants less than 10 cm long, and are therefore often overlooked. However, certain species may cover large patches of ground, rocks, trees or any other reasonably firm substrate on which they occur. They are distributed globally in almost every available habitat, most often in humid locations although there are desert and Arctic species as well. Some species can be a nuisance in shady greenhouses or a weed in gardens.

Description
Most liverworts are small, measuring from 2 - 20 mm wide with individual plants less than 10 cm long, so they are often overlooked. The most familiar liverworts consist of a prostrate, flattened, ribbon-like or branching structure called a thallus (plant body); these liverworts are termed thallose liverworts. However, most liverworts produce flattened stems with overlapping scales or leaves in two or more ranks, the middle rank is often conspicuously different from the outer ranks; these are called leafy liverworts or scale liverworts. (See the gallery below for examples.)

Liverworts can most reliably be distinguished from the apparently similar mosses by their single-celled rhizoids. Other differences are not universal for all mosses and all liverworts; but the lack of clearly differentiated stem and leaves in thallose species, or in leafy species the presence of deeply lobed or segmented leaves and the presence of leaves arranged in three ranks, as well as frequent dichotomous branching, all point to the plant being a liverwort. Unlike any other embryophytes, most liverworts contain unique membrane-bound oil bodies containing isoprenoids in at least some of their cells, lipid droplets in the cytoplasm of all other plants being unenclosed. The overall physical similarity of some mosses and leafy liverworts means that confirmation of the identification of some groups can be performed with certainty only with the aid of microscopy or an experienced bryologist.

Liverworts, like other bryophytes, have a gametophyte-dominant life cycle, with the sporophyte dependent on the gametophyte. The sporophyte of many liverworts are non-photosynthetic, but there are also several that are photosynthetic to various degrees. Cells in a typical liverwort plant each contain only a single set of genetic information, so the plant's cells are haploid for the majority of its life cycle. This contrasts sharply with the pattern exhibited by nearly all animals and by vascular plants. In the more familiar seed plants, the haploid generation is represented only by the tiny pollen and the ovule, while the diploid generation is the familiar tree or other plant. Another unusual feature of the liverwort life cycle is that sporophytes (i.e. the diploid body) are very short-lived, withering away not long after releasing spores. In mosses, the sporophyte is more persistent and in hornworts, the sporophyte disperses spores over an extended period.

Life cycle

The life of a liverwort starts from the germination of a haploid spore to produce a protonema, which is either a mass of thread-like filaments or a flattened thallus. The protonema is a transitory stage in the life of a liverwort, from which will grow the mature gametophore ("gamete-bearer") plant that produces the sex organs. The male organs are known as antheridia (singular: antheridium) and produce the sperm cells. Clusters of antheridia are enclosed by a protective layer of cells called the perigonium (plural: perigonia). As in other land plants, the female organs are known as archegonia (singular: archegonium) and are protected by the thin surrounding perichaetum (plural: perichaeta). Each archegonium has a slender hollow tube, the "neck", down which the sperm swim to reach the egg cell.

Liverwort species may be either dioicous or monoicous. In dioicous liverworts, female and male sex organs are borne on different and separate gametophyte plants. In monoicous liverworts, the two kinds of reproductive structures are borne on different branches of the same plant. In either case, the sperm must move from the antheridia where they are produced to the archegonium where the eggs are held. The sperm of liverworts is biflagellate, i.e. they have two tail-like flagellae that enable them to swim short distances, provided that at least a thin film of water is present. Their journey may be assisted by the splashing of raindrops. In 2008, Japanese researchers discovered that some liverworts are able to fire sperm-containing water up to 15 cm in the air, enabling them to fertilize female plants growing more than a metre from the nearest male.

When sperm reach the archegonia, fertilisation occurs, leading to the production of a diploid sporophyte. After fertilisation, the immature sporophyte within the archegonium develops three distinct regions: (1) a foot, which both anchors the sporophyte in place and receives nutrients from its "mother" plant, (2) a spherical or ellipsoidal capsule, inside which the spores will be produced for dispersing to new locations, and (3) a seta (stalk) which lies between the other two regions and connects them. The sporophyte lacks an apical meristem, an auxin-sensitive point of divergence with other land plants some time in the Late Silurian/Early Devonian. When the sporophyte has developed all three regions, the seta elongates, pushing its way out of the archegonium and rupturing it. While the foot remains anchored within the parent plant, the capsule is forced out by the seta and is extended away from the plant and into the air. Within the capsule, cells divide to produce both elater cells and spore-producing cells. The elaters are spring-like, and will push open the wall of the capsule to scatter themselves when the capsule bursts. The spore-producing cells will undergo meiosis to form haploid spores to disperse, upon which point the life cycle can start again.

Asexual reproduction
Some liverworts are capable of asexual reproduction; in bryophytes in general "it would almost be true to say that vegetative reproduction is the rule and not the exception." For example, in Riccia, when the older parts of the forked thalli die, the younger tips become separate individuals.

Some thallose liverworts such as Marchantia polymorpha and Lunularia cruciata produce small disc-shaped gemmae in shallow cups. Marchantia gemmae can be dispersed up to 120 cm by rain splashing into the cups. In Metzgeria, gemmae grow at thallus margins. Marchantia polymorpha is a common weed in greenhouses, often covering the entire surface of containers; gemma dispersal is the "primary mechanism by which liverwort spreads throughout a nursery or greenhouse."

Symbiosis
Thalloid liverworts typically harbor symbiotic glomeromycete fungi which have arbuscular (cilia-bearing) rootlets resembling those in vascular plants. Species in the Aneuraceae, however, associate with basidiomycete fungi belonging to the genus Tulasnella, while leafy liverworts typically harbor symbiotic basidiomycete fungi belonging to the genus Serendipita.

Ecology
Today, liverworts can be found in many ecosystems across the planet except the sea and excessively dry environments, or those exposed to high levels of direct solar radiation. As with most groups of living plants, they are most common (both in numbers and species) in moist tropical areas. Liverworts are more commonly found in moderate to deep shade, though desert species may tolerate direct sunlight and periods of total desiccation.

Relationship to other plants
Traditionally, the liverworts were grouped together with other bryophytes (mosses and hornworts) in the Division Bryophyta, within which the liverworts made up the class Hepaticae (also called Marchantiopsida). Somewhat more recently, the liverworts were given their own division (Marchantiophyta), as bryophytes became considered to be paraphyletic. However, the most recent phylogenetic evidence indicates that liverworts are indeed likely part of a monophyletic clade ("Bryophyta sensu lato" or "Bryophyta Schimp.") alongside mosses and hornworts. Hence, it has been suggested that the liverworts should be de-ranked to a class called Marchantiopsida. In addition, there is strong phylogenetic evidence to suggest that liverworts and mosses form a monophyletic subclade named Setaphyta.

An important conclusion from these phylogenies is that the ancestral stomata appear to have been lost in the liverwort lineage. Among the earliest fossils believed to be liverworts are compression fossils of Pallaviciniites from the Upper Devonian of New York. These fossils resemble modern species in the Metzgeriales. Another Devonian fossil called Protosalvinia also looks like a liverwort, but its relationship to other plants is still uncertain, so it may not belong to the Marchantiophyta. In 2007, the oldest fossils assignable at that time to the liverworts were announced, Metzgeriothallus sharonae from the Givetian (Middle Devonian) of New York, United States. However, in 2010, five different types of fossilized liverwort spores were found in Argentina, dating to the much earlier Middle Ordovician, around 470 million years ago.

Internal classification
Bryologists classify liverworts in the division Marchantiophyta. This divisional name is based on the name of the most universally recognized liverwort genus Marchantia. In addition to this taxon-based name, the liverworts are often called Hepaticophyta. This name is derived from their common Latin name as Latin was the language in which botanists published their descriptions of species. This name has led to some confusion, partly because it appears to be a taxon-based name derived from the genus Hepatica which is actually a flowering plant of the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. In addition, the name Hepaticophyta is frequently misspelled in textbooks as Hepatophyta, which only adds to the confusion.

Although there is no consensus among bryologists as to the classification of liverworts above family rank, the Marchantiophyta may be subdivided into three classes:

 * The Jungermanniopsida includes the two orders Metzgeriales (simple thalloids) and Jungermanniales (leafy liverworts).
 * The Marchantiopsida includes the three orders Marchantiales (complex-thallus liverworts), and Sphaerocarpales (bottle hepatics), as well as the Blasiales (previously placed among the Metzgeriales). It also includes the problematic genus Monoclea, which is sometimes placed in its own order Monocleales.
 * A third class, the Haplomitriopsida is newly recognized as the sister group of the other liverworts; it comprises the genera Haplomitrium, Treubia, and Apotreubia.

An updated classification by Söderström et al. 2016
 * Marchantiophyta Stotler & Crandall-Stotler 2000
 * Haplomitriopsida Stotler & Crandall-Stotler 1977
 * Calobryales Hamlin 1972
 * Treubiales Schljakov 1972
 * Marchantiopsida Cronquist, Takhtajan & Zimmermann 1966
 * Blasiidae He-Nygrén et al. 2006
 * Blasiales Stotler & Crandall-Stotler 2000
 * Marchantiidae Engler 1893 sensu He-Nygrén et al. 2006
 * Lunulariales Long 2006
 * Marchantiales Limpricht 1877 (complex thalloids)
 * Neohodgsoniales Long 2006
 * Sphaerocarpales Cavers 1910 (bottle liverworts)
 * Jungermanniopsida Stotler & Crandall-Stotler 1977
 * Jungermanniidae Engler 1893 (leafy liverworts)
 * Jungermanniales von Klinggräff 1858
 * Porellales Schljakov 1972
 * Ptilidiales Schljakov 1972
 * Metzgeriidae Bartholomew-Began 1990
 * Metzgeriales Chalaud 1930
 * Pleuroziales Schljakov 1972
 * Pelliidae He-Nygrén et al. 2006
 * Fossombroniales Schljakov 1972
 * Pallaviciniales Frey & Stech 2005
 * Pelliales He-Nygrén et al. 2006

It is estimated that there are about 9000 species of liverworts, at least 85% of which belong to the leafy group. Despite that fact, no liverwort genomes have been sequenced to date and only few genes identified and characterized.

Economic importance
In ancient times, it was believed that liverworts cured diseases of the liver, hence the name. In Old English, the word liverwort literally means liver plant. This probably stemmed from the superficial appearance of some thalloid liverworts which resemble a liver in outline, and led to the common name of the group as hepatics, from the Latin word hēpaticus for "belonging to the liver". An unrelated flowering plant, Hepatica, is sometimes also referred to as liverwort because it was once also used in treating diseases of the liver. This archaic relationship of plant form to function was based in the "Doctrine of Signatures".

Liverworts have little direct economic importance today. Their greatest impact is indirect, through the reduction of erosion along streambanks, their collection and retention of water in tropical forests, and the formation of soil crusts in deserts and polar regions. However, a few species are used by humans directly. A few species, such as Riccia fluitans, are aquatic thallose liverworts sold for use in aquariums. Their thin, slender branches float on the water's surface and provide habitat for both small invertebrates and the fish that feed on them.

Gallery
A small collection of images showing liverwort structure and diversity:

title: Marchantiophyta