World The smallest country of Vatican is a major budget problem. The Vatican does not tax its inhabitants or issues bonds. The central government of the Roman Catholic Church mainly operates with charity, which is steadily declining. Apart from this, ticket sales for Vatican museums, investment income and real estate are some income. According to the Roman Catholic Church and the Central Administrative Institute of Vatican City ‘Holi C’, its income in 2021 was US $ 87.8 million. However, the expenses were more than this.
Great challenge to get out of losses
The biggest challenge before the Pope Leo 14th is to get the Vatican out of the deficit. Anyone can donate money to Vatican, but regular sources come in two main forms. According to the canon law, bishops around the world have to pay the annual fee. According to the Vatican data, the US bishops contributed more than one third of $ 2.2 million annually. The second main source of annual donations is more well-known for common Catholics- ‘Peters Pence’. It is a special collection, usually taken on the last Sunday of June. The US received an average of $ 2.7 million at this item, which is more than half of the global collection. However, it is steadily declining.
Income from decreasing fares
The Vatican institutions are also constantly reducing their contribution. Robert Gehl, director of the Church Management Program at the Business School, Catholic University of America, said Leo would have to raise donations from outside the US, which is not a small task. He said that the tradition (and tax profit) of philanthropy personally in Europe is very low. Vatican has 4,249 properties in Italy. In addition, London, Paris, Geneva and Switzerland have more than 1,200 properties. About fifth of these are rented at the appropriate market price. There is no income from about 70 percent, as they have Vatican or other church offices. The remaining 10 percent is given less rent to the Vatican employees.
Property may have to be sold
In the year 2023, these properties made a profit of only $ 3.99 million. Ward Fitzgerald, president of the US-based Papal Foundation, said that the Vatican should also be ready to sell some assets, which are very expensive to maintain. The challenge is also big, because the number of Catholics going to church in the US and some parts of Europe is decreasing and the churches that have ever been filled are empty.
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