News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

Vatican-main_article_image.jpg
Jean-Pol Grandmont
World News

Is the Vatican facing a cash crisis?

In the new book 'Universal Judgement', Nuzzi used 3,000 confidential documents to support his claims of the Vatican rapidly losing money. His book claims the Vatican is in danger of defaulting by 2023 if something does not change soon to balance the books.

Nuzzi writes that the Vatican lost nearly €44 million last year as its vast property portfolio went into the red for the first time.

 
 
Speaking to The Times newspaper Nuzzi said: "Pope Francis's reforms of the Vatican's finances are failing, like a plaster placed on a hemorrhage".

The book documents the establishment of an emergency task force in the Vatican last year to ward off a financial meltdown as 2018 losses rose to €43.9 million form €32 million the year before.

One of the main causes according to documents is the drop in donations, known as Peter's Pence after the reputation of the Church has been marred by sex abuse scandals.

From €101 million in 2006, donations fell to €70 million in 2016, and Nuzzi quotes a document saying that the number is now below €60 million.

The other main cause the book blames for the Vatican's cash crisis is on bad management of its property portfolio. The Vatican's real estate office, Aspa, manages 2,926 properties made a loss of €22.6 million last year.

Nuzzi was a central figure in the Vatican leaks scandal that revealed alleged corruption. He published documents leaked by Pope Benedict's butler in 2012 and wrote a book in 2015 which led him being tried and acquitted by a Vatican court for publishing confidential information.

 

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate