VATICAN CITY – Catholic cardinals will now not get pleasure from free Vatican flats underneath a rule change ordered by Pope Francis to save cash, Vatican News reported on Wednesday.
The pontiff stated the present financial local weather required “sacrifice” as he additionally ordered an finish to discounted rents loved by high Vatican officers.
The resolution was taken “to meet the growing commitments” of the Catholic Church “in an economic context of particular gravity, such as the current one”, in keeping with a papal word cited by the Vatican’s official news outlet.
Francis urged the necessity “for everyone to make an extraordinary sacrifice to allocate more resources to the mission of the Holy See, also by increasing revenue from the management of the real estate patrimony”.
The Vatican didn’t publish the word, nor did it reply to AFP requests for affirmation.
Existing rental contracts can be honored however from then on the Church establishments that personal the properties should apply the identical charges as these charged to individuals with no connection to the Vatican, Vatican News stated.
It didn’t say when the measure would come into impact, solely that it was agreed after a gathering the pope had with the pinnacle of the Vatican’s economic system division on February 13.
The Vatican’s actual property empire is huge, together with buildings from Rome to Paris, London and Geneva.
Since he grew to become pope in 2013, Francis has sought to convey order to the Holy See’s funds, whereas enhancing transparency on the Vatican.
In 2021, he lowered the salaries of cardinals and high officers to assist mitigate the harm wrought by the coronavirus pandemic on the Holy See’s funds. — Agence France-Presse
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
