This isn’t intended as a dig at the church, but an example of how some charities operate. (The Wall Street Journal article.)

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By Francis X. Rocca
Dec. 11, 2019 9:54 am ET

VATICAN CITY—Every year, Catholics around the world donate tens of millions of dollars to the pope. Bishops exhort the faithful to support the weak and suffering through the pope’s main charitable appeal, called Peter’s Pence.

What the church doesn’t advertise is that most of that collection, worth more than €50 million ($55 million) annually, goes toward plugging the hole in the Vatican’s own administrative budget, while as little as 10% is spent on charitable works, according to people familiar with the funds.

The little-publicized breakdown of how the Holy See spends Peter’s Pence, known only among senior Vatican officials, is raising concern among some Catholic Church leaders that the faithful are being misled about the use of their donations, which could further hurt the credibility of the Vatican’s financial management under Pope Francis.

The Vatican is currently embroiled in a scandal over opaque real-estate investments in London, which has triggered a power struggle within the Vatican’s bureaucracy and led to the dismissal of its chief financial regulator. Last month, the Vatican was suspended from an international network of anti-money-laundering watchdogs.

Meanwhile, the Holy See is struggling with a growing budget deficit, with the pope warning cardinals of the “grave impact” on the body’s economic future. The Vatican’s continuing financial problems reflect a lack of progress on improving its management and finances, which Pope Francis was elected in 2013 with a mandate to overhaul, following allegations of corruption, waste and incompetence there.

Under church law, Peter’s Pence is available to the pope to use at his discretion in any way that serves his ministry, including the support of his administration. The collection’s website says that, to support the pope’s charitable works, “Peter’s Pence also contributes to the support of the Apostolic See and the activities of the Holy See,” emphasizing activities that help “populations, individuals and families in precarious conditions.”

The assets of Peter’s Pence now total about €600 million, down from about €700 million early in the current pontificate, largely on account of unsuccessful investments, said the people familiar with the funds’ use.

The use of Peter’s Pence donations mostly to plug the budget deficit is particularly sensitive for Pope Francis, who began his pontificate by calling for a “poor church for the poor,” and has continually emphasized the church’s mission to care for and advocate on behalf of the most vulnerable.

The head of the Vatican’s press office didn’t respond to requests for comment on the use of the funds.

Peter’s Pence, a special collection from Catholics around the world every June, is billed as a fundraising effort for the needy. The Vatican’s website for the collection, www.peterspence.va, describes it as a “gesture of charity, a way of supporting the activity of the Pope and the universal Church in favoring especially the poorest and Churches in difficulty. It is also an invitation to pay attention and be near to new forms of poverty and fragility.”

A section of the website dedicated to “works realized” describes individual grants, such as €100,000 in relief aid to survivors of last month’s earthquake in Albania or €150,000 for those affected by cyclone Idai in southeastern Africa in March.

Local church leaders echo the Vatican’s line when soliciting contributions. According to the website of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: “The purpose of the Peter’s Pence Collection is to provide the Holy Father with the financial means to respond to those who are suffering as a result of war, oppression, natural disaster and disease.”

But for at least the past five years, only about 10% of the money collected—more than €50 million was raised in 2018—has gone to the sort of charitable causes featured in advertising for the collection, according to people familiar with the matter.

Meanwhile, about two-thirds of the money has been used to help cover the budget deficit at the Holy See, these people said. The Holy See consists of the central administration of the Catholic Church and the papal diplomatic network around the world. In 2018, the budget deficit reached roughly €70 million on total spending of about €300 million, reflecting chronic inefficiencies, rising wage costs and hits to investment income.

Donations to Peter’s Pence have dropped notably in recent years, to over €50 million in 2018 from over €60 million in 2017, these people said. Concern among ordinary Catholics over the church’s clerical sex-abuse crisis, as well as about the Vatican’s financial transparency, have weighed on donations, these people said. Another decline is expected for 2019.

The Peter’s Pence fund, which is managed by the Secretariat of State, the Holy See’s executive, has been under increased scrutiny since October, when Vatican police raided the Secretariat’s offices and those of the Vatican’s financial watchdog as part of an investigation into a large investment in a building in London’s upmarket Chelsea district. Vatican officials familiar with the secretariat’s operations believe at least some of the money for the controversial investment came from Peter’s Pence.

In November, Pope Francis said that he had authorized the raids because of apparent corruption, but he defended the practice of investing Peter’s Pence donations in real estate and other assets, rather than using it for charity immediately.

“When the money from Peter’s Pence arrives, what do I do? I put it in a drawer? No. This is bad administration. I try to make an investment and when I need to give, when there is a need, throughout the year, the money is taken and that capital does not devalue, it stays the same or it increases a bit,” the pope said last month.

But no more than a quarter of the annual Peter’s Pence contributions is available for investments, after the bulk is spent on the Vatican’s operating costs, according to the people familiar with the fund.

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Can't say that I'm shocked by this.

Having visited the Vatican a couple times I'm surprised they funnel that much to the poor. BTW raised Catholic.

There are obviously a good number of religious charities that do great work, but the idea of the Church itself using God to raise money has always bothered me because anytime mortal men get involved with anything, there will be corruption. Add large sums of money to the mix and the temptation to stray from God's path of righteousness will only be greater.

I was raised catholic and became more and more appalled at the opulence of the religion and how much a bug business it was. It was discouraging how little of the tithe collection actually went to the needy. Hypocrites.

Buddy Hackett did an old routine where he tells of visiting the Vatican and being amazed at all the opulence. He tells a Cardinal: "Your Eminence, if you sold just one of these paintings, you could feed all of the starving people in Rome for a year." The Cardinal replied: "Get out of here you fat bastard", but he said it in Latin: "Amscray obesay illigetimo."

quote:

Originally posted by tk13:
The Cardinal replied: "Get out of here you fat bastard", but he said it in Latin: "Amscray obesay illigetimo."

Amscray obesay is Latin alright....Pig Latin!

Lots of charities work this way.

They "give" and "help", but only after "helping themselves".

quote:

VATICAN CITY—Every year, Catholics around the world donate tens of millions of dollars to the pope. Bishops exhort the faithful to support the weak and suffering through the pope’s main charitable appeal, called Peter’s Pence.

Thanks for posting. I don't contribute to Peter’s Pence. I contribute to my local Saint Vincent DePaul Society where my contribution goes 100% to helping the needy in my community. It's administered at the parish level and they give an annual report on how the funds were used and who was helped. It's much more efficient than sending money to Rome and hoping some makes its way to people in need.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Lots of charities work this way.

Back in the 80s, I worked for a promotion/marketing company that worked with a lot of different charities, including medical, catholic, police, pets, etc. The company got a big cut of the donations, and the charities themselves spent another big chunk for salaries, admin, etc. So the OP's article estimate of 10% is not out of line.

Deliver your contribution or help directly into the hand of the person who needs it.

"You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion." L. Ron Hubbard (allegedly)

Google "Charity Navigator". It's one of the best sources for analyzing what a charity does with its funds. Some of the profiles might surprise you.

quote:

Originally posted by Kraquin:
"You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion." L. Ron Hubbard (allegedly)

Didn’t he do both?

Other than maybe some shady advertising, I don't understand the uproar.

If you send money directly to the Pope, which I think is kind of silly but it's none of my business, then aren't you pretty much saying - do whatever you think is best with this money? If they use it for budget deficits or managing the Vatican or whatever, I don't see the issue. I don't think anyone who is Catholic thinks that the Vatican is run like a homeless shelter. They are living well for sure.

Very informative article, and to me, not really all that surprising.

That said, I give with the intention of helping. What happens after that is out of my control.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Can't say that I'm shocked by this.

Me, either.

Wife and I have visited the Vatican. I was especially interested in the "museum" where they had 10s of millions in gold, jewels etc in various forms on display. As I recall, one "cape" donated by the peasants from some eastern European country who spent decades collecting the required amount. The cape was too heavy from the god and jewels for the pope to wear it. Oh, and they charged admission to get in to see the stuff.

The sadducees
Were replaced with Jesus for this very reason.
"More riches given the better relationship with God."
IS TRICKERY....

LOVE & CARE .... Has NO + OR - .

I'm Catholic and attend mass weekly (and Holy days of obligation) because mass is a requirement. But I have stopped giving them money even though my Parish is solid. It's my way of telling them it's time to change. I'm tired of the chomo's and they need to be locked up under the jails. I quit going for 6 months this year due to this but a close friend convinced me to serve God, go to mass, etc, and I said fine, but no more $ being donated.

In my experience most who give through a church or other middle man give to make themselves feel better rather than to help their fellow man. That would actually take a bit of effort.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

VATICAN CITY—Every year, Catholics around the world donate tens of millions of dollars to the pope. Bishops exhort the faithful to support the weak and suffering through the pope’s main charitable appeal, called Peter’s Pence.

Thanks for posting. I don't contribute to Peter’s Pence. I contribute to my local Saint Vincent DePaul Society where my contribution goes 100% to helping the needy in my community. It's administered at the parish level and they give an annual report on how the funds were used and who was helped. It's much more efficient than sending money to Rome and hoping some makes its way to people in need.

Non-profit tax status doesn't have any kind of threshold on what proportion of funds has to be donated. An organization can put 1% of donations collected towards its cause and maintain legal non-profit status.

The NFL up until 2015 had 501(c)(6) non-profit tax status. Roger Goodell was earning $30-45 million/yr as commissioner of a non-profit trade organization.

For these reasons, anytime someone hits me up for a charitable donation, I ask where I can see their organizations annual financial report. I want to see where the money is going. Any decently run organization will have a website or at the very least a financial officer or accountant who can provide those reports. Anyone stumped by the question can pound sand.