POPE FRANCIS has set up a special commission to boost the Vatican’s income, amid fears that its worldwide outreach could face cutbacks because of dwindling resources.
In a decree, the Pope said that the new six-member body would serve the Holy See’s “bond of unity and charity” with local churches, and provide “necessary means” for it to maintain its “service to the universal Church”.
Its work, he said, would reflect the “current economic situation” by organising money-raising campaigns “among the faithful, Episcopal Conferences and other potential benefactors”, as well as by raising funds “from willing donors for specific projects”.
The announcement follows mounting concern about the financial viability of the Vatican’s diplomatic missions, operating in 180 countries and 40 international organisations, as well as of its media output in dozens of languages.
Reuters news agency said that key Vatican earnings currently came from stock investments and rent from more than 500 properties, as well as from tourist revenue, university and hospital fees, and direct donations to papal funds.
It said, however, that annual income projections, set at about €840 million, had fallen as a result of the pandemic, administration and pension costs, and negative publicity from financial and sex-abuse scandals, leaving an operating deficit calculated by the Italian daily La Repubblica, last July, of €83 million.
The Pope reduced salaries and bonuses several times (for cardinals and Vatican staffers) after taking office in March 2013, Reuters reported, but “faced push-back” from Vatican Curia officials in late 2024, when he proposed budget cuts and an opening to outside funding.
Hopes were now high that shortfalls could be covered by wealthy Roman Catholic foundations in Europe and the United States, as well as by the sell-off of some investment portfolios.
The new commission, appointed by the Pope and reporting directly to him, includes two Italian nuns, and will be headed by Mgr Roberto Campisi, Assessor for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.
With an initial operating budget of €300,000, it will establish funding priorities and decide on “awareness-raising and fund-raising campaigns”, according to the Pope’s decree. It will also co-ordinate the traditional “Peter’s Pence” raised from parishes worldwide, which generates about €100 million per year.
The new finance initiative is one of several reformist moves confirmed by Pope Francis since his mid-February hospitalisation with double pneumonia (News, 28 February), during a Jubilee Year that is expected to attract up to 60 million visitors to Rome.
An Italian Franciscan nun, Sister Raffaella Petrini, has been appointed as President of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State and President of the Governorate of Vatican City State.
New restrictions were announced last week on publicly naming clergy accused, but not yet found guilty, of sexual abuse.
In a weekend message, the Pope also called for “unnecessary pomp” and “excessive ostentation” to be reined in at masses and liturgical ceremonies.
