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Pope Francis has decided to cut the salaries of the cardinals working at the Vatican again, a measure that will take effect November 1. According to the Italian ANSA news agency, layman Maximino Caballero Ledo, the prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, informed the cardinals of the Holy Father’s decision in a letter dated October 18, almost a month after Pope Francis sent another letter on the subject.

Specifically, salaries or stipends will be cut in two areas: the “secretarial bonus” and the “office compensation,” two methods that were part of the monthly allowances and will no longer be paid.

Although the Vatican does not specify how much a cardinal working in the Vatican receives, ANSA indicated that it is approximately 5,500 euros a month (about $65,000 a year). With the current cut, that amount would decrease by about 500 euros ($540).

In his letter to the cardinals, Caballero also pointed out that there are “other measures, which are being studied by the competent bodies,” and that “will require the contribution of everyone.”

Caballero also said that this measure “will be welcomed in the most authentic spirit of cooperation for the good of the Church.”

In a September letter, Pope Francis indicated to the cardinals that “further effort is needed, on the part of everyone, so that the ‘zero deficit’ is not just a theoretical objective but an actually achievable goal.”

The Italian daily Il Messagero notes that, together with the decrease in donations from Peter’s Pence, the cost to keep paying the salaries of the 4,000 Vatican employees amounts to about 10 million euros ($10.8 million) per month. (An average of about $32,400 a year per employee).

The Vatican’s latest budget put the deficit at 83 million euros ($89.7 million).

According to the Spanish newspaper Europa Press, this cut in the cardinals’ salaries will allow them to “save 180,000 euros ($194,000) a year, a symbolic figure and a gesture that lays the groundwork for being able to ask other senior Vatican officials to make sacrifices.”

THE PREVIOUS SALARY CUT FOR CARDINALS

In March 2021, Pope Francis decided to reduce the salaries of cardinals serving in the Vatican by 10% in order to “safeguard current jobs” and guarantee “an economically sustainable future.”

At the time, the Holy Father explained that the salary reduction was justified “given the deficit that has characterized the financial management of the Holy See for several years” and “taking into account the worsening of this situation following the health emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19, which has negatively affected all sources of income of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.”

THE MEASURE WENT INTO EFFECT ON APRIL 1, 2021.

In addition, in March 2023, Pope Francis decided to eliminate the possibility for cardinals and other senior Vatican officials to use free of charge or at advantageous rates housing owned by the Holy See.

Rev. Fr. George Nwachukwu
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