The Pope takes out the red pencil: According to a media report, Pope Francis is reducing the salaries of his cardinals, who will earn a few hundred euros less per month from November.
According to the Roman daily Il Messaggero, the average cardinal’s salary is about 5,000 euros per month. The message to cardinals announcing the salary cuts was signed by the head of the Economic Secretariat, Prefect Maximino Caballero, the report said.
Reduction of allowances as a “symbolic sacrifice”
It was announced that two salary positions would be eliminated. One concerns the secretarial costs, the so-called “secretary allowance”, and the other concerns the “office allowance”, which was previously part of the monthly salary. The Vatican said the cuts were “a symbolic sacrifice in the sincere spirit of cooperation for the good of the Church.”
Last week, Francis sent a message to the more than 200 members of the College of Cardinals, announcing that the spending review that had already started should be reinforced with further measures. He also encouraged each department head to burden the treasury as little as possible.
Pope wants to achieve a zero deficit
The Pope’s goal is to achieve a zero deficit, a goal described as “achievable”, even though the contribution to St. Peter’s Basilica decreases every year, while the sum of the salaries of the more than 4,000 employees of the Vatican, for which The almost ten million euros spent monthly is growing. Two years ago, Jesuit Father Guerrero Alves, predecessor of the current Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, warned the Pope that bold decisions were needed to balance the books.
Source: Krone
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