VATICAN REDUCES SALARIES OF CARDINALS AND CLERICS

Financial problems continue to plague the Holy See. In an attempt to avoid the ruin of the treasury, the head of the Vatican issued an order, the legal consequences of which come into force on April 1. Curial cardinals and clerics, whose wages will be cut by 10%, will become the "victim" of the city-state's policy of costs cutting.

The Pope has made a decision to cut income for other categories of employees, whose wages will be reduced by 3-8%. Exceptions will be made for those who cannot bear the burden of service under the new conditions due to health problems of themselves or some close relatives.

The Holy See decided to suspend any salary increases related to seniority until March 31, 2023.

It is not known whether the dates indicated in the papal message of Motu Proprio are related to the book of the Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, which made a sensation after its release back in 2019. In a book called The Last Judgment, describing the secrets of the Vatican's financial activities, Nuzzi concluded that 2023 will be the time when the capital of the Catholic world will declare its bankruptcy. According to the journalist, the book was written on the basis of more than 3 thousand internal documents that were at the author's disposal.

Pope Francis himself in his message connects the decision to cut employees' salaries, first of all, with the consequences of the pandemic, due to which the cash injections into the Vatican's treasury were greatly reduced.

The financial deficit of the Vatican's budget in 2021 will be almost € 50 million.

The Vatican museums, which traditionally brought in € 100 million, were closed during 2020. The reduction in the number of visitors from 7 million to 1.3 million people a year could not improve the state of affairs as well.

The difficult state of affairs was evident back in last May, when the Vatican's leadership froze hiring, having suspended major events, travel and overtime payments. The Denarius of St. Peter, a special fund to which Catholics around the world make donations, has also been significantly reduced due to the suspension of collections for several months.

Earlier inflows to the fund ranged from $ 50 million to $ 65 million annually.

It is worth noting that Jorge Mario Bergoglio's (name of a Roman High priest) decision to cut spending through cardinals' salaries is an attempt to address the issue without resorting to the massive layoffs that were discussed in February. Then the discussion was, first of all, about those who did not want to get vaccinated against COVID-19. The Pope was vaccinated back in January.