A new analysis of the Vatican’s finances by an Italian news outlet contains both good and bad news, pointing to relative success in efforts to contain ballooning deficits but also seemingly irreversible long-term declines. Source: Crux.
According to an overview of the most recent financial data published July 26 by La Repubblica, Italy’s most widely read daily newspaper, the Vatican’s annual operating deficit grew by about $A8.2 million in 2023, a lower figure than in past years.
The report suggested the result was due to the impact of both spending cuts and also efforts to generate more realistic appraisals of the value of Vatican properties.
Among the cost-cutting measures adopted in recent years include new limits on hiring and contracting, as well as efforts to increase the rents collected on some Vatican properties that are leased commercially and to put others up for sale.
The report cited a recently completed financial statement approved by the Vatican’s Council for the Economy, led by German Cardinal Reinhard Marx.
According to the report, the deficit for 2023 amounted to over $137 million, with income of $1.91 billion and expenses of $2.05 billion.
Income in 2023 grew by $45 million, according to the financial statement, but expenses also went up by $55 million due to the impact of inflation.
The statement also indicated that the size of the 2023 deficit could still shrink somewhat depending on what the actual performance of the Vatican’s investment portfolios match projections.
The Repubblica analysis also found that income from the annual Peter’s Pence collection, which supports the works of the Pope, amounted to $80 million in 2023, an increase over the $72 million collected in 2022.
Nonetheless, the net gain from the collection was offset by the fact that the fund’s reserves were once again drawn upon in 2023 to support the Roman Curia, the Vatican’s chief administrative bureaucracy, to the tune of almost $150 million.
Moreover, the long-term trend in income from the fund is clearly downwards. According to the Repubblica analysis, collections dropped 23 percent overall from 2015 to 2019, and are poised for further reductions.
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New report suggests long-term worries for Vatican finances (Crux)
