Pope Francis has decided to cut the salaries of the cardinals working at the Vatican for the umpteenth time.
This measure that will take effect Nov. 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 Oct. 18, almost a month after another letter from Pope Francis on the subject.
It was reported that the cut in salaries or stipends will be in two areas: the “secretarial bonus” and the “office compensation,” two methods that were part of the monthly allowances and that 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 indicated that he trusts 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.”
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