THERE WAS both positive and negative news in the Holy See’s annual financial report for the year 2010, issued last Saturday.
While the Holy See ended three years of losses, returning a €9.85 million profit, worldwide donations from the faithful, traditionally known as “Peter’s Pence”, were down by almost $15 million (€10.3 million) at $67.7 million.
In a statement, the economic affairs department of the Holy See, headed by Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, suggested the upturn in Vatican finances was largely explained by a slow, steady recovery in the wake of the 2008 global economic crisis.
The report also pointed out that the separately administered Vatican City state had returned a €21 million profit, largely attributed to a highly successful year for the prestigious Vatican museums which grant access to both Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel and the Raphael Rooms.
Another Vatican institution to return a profit was the Vatican Bank, IOR, which donated €55 million to the Pope, a €5 million increase on 2009.
Although the statement offered no explanation for the drop in worldwide “Peter’s Pence” donations, it seems likely that the Europe-wide, clerical sex abuse crisis in the first six months of 2010 had a very negative impact.