Anti-corruption activists and officials with Nepal's Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority call on public officials to follow Pope Francis' "simple life" and non-ostentatious lifestyle. The latest edition of the corruption index sees Nepal's ranking worsen.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - Nepal's corruption watchdog calls on bureaucrats and politicians to adopt the pope's "simple life" and non-ostentatious lifestyle, following the release of the 2014 Corruption Perception Index (CPI), published each year by Transparency International.

According to the index, things in Nepal have worsened, with the Himalayan nation dropping from 116^th to 126^th position, confirming what was already happening in the country.

In fact, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) has arrested hundreds of government officials on corruption charges in recent months.

Commission officials said they were doing "everything possible", laying the blame for corruption on politics, "which is getting worse and worse."

"We are doing everything possible from our side. But the perception of the political and bureaucratic sector is bad," said CIAA spokesperson Shreedhar Sapkota.

"When our souls are disserted," he said about the country's leaders, "there is no spirituality, there is no love for humanity and when we run after lavish and showy lifestyle, we can't improve."

"Our political leaders and bureaucratic officials should live simple life like Pope Francis. He has remarkably presented himself as the best person and we should learn from him that we should rise above our personal materialist life and work for society and the country."

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