The Holy See’s financial situation could improve this year, but the situation continues to be one of “continual difficulties,” the Vatican reports. A communiqué released today by the Vatican press office notes that 2010 could “reflect the hope of a possible economic and financial evolution.” The note was released at the end of a two-day meeting of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See. The council, presided over by cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope’s secretary of state, took at look at the separate budgets of the Holy See and the Governorate of Vatican City State.
Benedict XVI himself made a brief visit to the cardinals’ meeting to hear their observations and to thank them for their “valuable collaboration offered to the Apostolic See.”
The communiqué revealed that the largest item of the budget is that concerning the payment of the 2,668 employees of the Holy See. Although it is not foreseen that the personnel will increase, “the relative financial burden grows anyway, because of the adaptation of salaries to the cost of living,” the note stated.
Another important section is the maintenance of the media (Vatican Radio, the Television Center and L’Osservatore Romano), which “must be considered in the framework of the Church’s missionary activity.” “Even taking into account the present economic situation, the pastoral need has been evident to arouse greater attention of the faithful, more inclined to contribute to specific projects that are closer to them,” the note continued.
In regard to the budget of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the communiqué said it “has essentially overcome the difficulties of the preceding financial year,” which allows one “to look at the future with greater confidence.” The Governorate is in charge of the state’s buildings and structures, in which 1,884 people currently work.
VATICAN CITY, JAN. 22, 2010 (Zenit.org)