Rome is, or was, the center of the world. And, for centuries, the Vatican States were the place where fortunes, governments and empires were made and unmade. Today, things have changed, a lot, and on the eve of the Great Jubilee of 2025 (which commemorates the 1,700 years of the ‘Council of Nicaea’, which consecrated the union between Christianity and the Roman Empire and laid the foundations for the absolute power of the Church in the next seventeen centuries), the Vatican is on the verge of bankruptcy. The situation is so serious that the Pope himself has had to write to the Curia and the college of cardinals, admitting that the Vatican coffers are empty, and that there is no money to pay pensions.
“The current system is incapable of guaranteeing in the medium term the fulfillment of the pension obligation for future generations,” emphasizes Francis, who has announced that he will close the economic tap to all dicasteries (Vatican ministries) and organizations of the Holy See. It began with the media, the cost of which was no longer covered by the Dicastery for Communication, but the crisis has reached all curial organizations.
The Vatican’s economic mathematics is going through an extremely delicate moment: in recent times several cardinals have begun to approach large businessmen to explore the possibility of financing their projects, which until now had the financial backing of Rome.
“We are facing serious and complex problems that risk worsening if they are not addressed in time,” Bergoglio points out in his letter to the Curia, showing his “concern” about the management of the Vatican Pension Fund.
“All those who have examined this issue over time have been responsibly animated by the concern to guarantee a fair social security model for the community at the service of the Holy See and the State, and to fulfill the moral responsibility of providing decent benefits to those who are entitled to them, in a manner compatible with the available economic resources,” explains the pontiff, who reports on “various studies” from which it is derived that “the current management of pensions, taking into account the available assets , generates a significant deficit.”
The current system is incapable of guaranteeing compliance with the pension obligation for future generations in the medium term.
Pope Francis
— Letter from the Pope to the cardinals
“Unfortunately, the data that now emerges, at the conclusion of the latest in-depth analyzes carried out by independent experts, points to a serious imbalance in the prospects of the Fund, the magnitude of which tends to increase over time in the absence of intervention. ”. What does this mean? Simply put, the box doesn’t do much for itself.
“We are now all fully aware that we need urgent structural measures, which can no longer be postponed, to achieve the sustainability of the Pension Fund, in the more general context of the limited resources available to the entire organization, and adequate coverage of pensions for current and future employees, from a perspective of justice and equity between the different generations,” explains Francisco, who emphasizes that “these are not easy decisions that will require special sensitivity, generosity and willingness to sacrifice on the part of everyone. ”.
As a first measure, Bergoglio has appointed Cardinal Farrell “Sole Administrator of the Pension Fund.” A decision that, he assures, represents “an essential step to face the challenges that our pension system has posed in the future.” “It is imperative that we advance in this new phase, fundamental for the stability and well-being of our community, with promptness and unity of vision so that the necessary steps are taken urgently,” concludes the Pope, who asks the Curia and the cardinals “a special collaboration to facilitate this new and unavoidable path of change.”
The drop in donations does not augur a promising future
Is the situation that serious? The 2023 balance sheet points to an operating deficit of 83 million euros, five million more than the previous year. The prospects are not very promising, given the gradual decline in donations from the faithful.
The Pence of Saint Peter receives half as many donations as at the beginning of this pontificate, a situation that is due to several factors: the post-Covid-19 crisis (the Pope gave free use of businesses rented on Vatican properties, and visits of the faithful or the Vatican Museums have not been recovered since then) and, especially, the growing process of disaffection of the great fortunes – more ultra-conservative than Catholic – to the reforms proposed by Francis.
In the midst of this panorama, Vatican authorities hope to reverse the situation in 2025 thanks to the celebration of a Holy Year. The Jubilee will bring to Rome – Roman leaders hope – more than 35 million pilgrims, eager to earn indulgence for sins and, in the process, to spend their money on cultural and tourist proposals designed together by the City Council of Rome. and the Vatican.
The reality, however, is stubborn: in addition to the real estate assets and the Vatican Museums, the only income of the Holy See – which has no taxes or monetary policy – are those donations that have collapsed: those sent each year to Rome by the Richer churches, such as the United States, Italy, Germany, Spain or South Korea, and those that send the faithful from all over the world to the Pope through the Saint Peter’s Pence and which, in large part, have dedicated themselves to paying the expenses of the Vatican Curia.
Faced with this, Francis has already conveyed to cardinals and curials “the need for each Institution to work in the search for external resources for its mission, setting itself as an example of transparent and responsible management at the service of the Church.”
“In terms of cost reduction, we must set a concrete example so that our service is carried out in a spirit of essentiality, avoiding the superfluous and selecting our priorities well, promoting mutual collaboration and synergies,” the Pope insists to the cardinals. Some cardinals who, in fact, had already tightened their belts: three years ago, Francisco lowered their salaries by ten percent (they went from earning 5,500 to 5,000 euros per month), and stopped offering them completely free accommodation in the Vatican palaces. Many of them, empty. Is there a sale coming up in the Vatican territories to avoid bankruptcy? Or will there be a miracle?
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