Vatican gave out 1.5 million euros in charity in 2014

[gilliam]

Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican under Pope Francis gave out aid worth 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) in 2014, an increase of 25 percent over the previous year, an official said on Thursday.

Refugees, prisoners, the homeless, the sick and the elderly benefitted from the aid that charities received from the Vatican office responsible for taking care of the poorest.

Individuals also received direct Vatican aid – 8,000 people benefited from it in 2014 – along with religious communities which used it for basic needs or building renovation work.

news.yahoo.com/vatican-gave-1-5-million-euros-charity-2014-175508204.html

 

[EmperorNapoleon]

Vatican City (AFP) - The Vatican under Pope Francis gave out aid worth 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) in 2014, an increase of 25 percent over the previous year, an official said on Thursday.

Refugees, prisoners, the homeless, the sick and the elderly benefitted from the aid that charities received from the Vatican office responsible for taking care of the poorest.

Individuals also received direct Vatican aid – 8,000 people benefited from it in 2014 – along with religious communities which used it for basic needs or building renovation work.

news.yahoo.com/vatican-gave-1-5-million-euros-charity-2014-175508204.html

$1.6 million? $1.6 *million *dollars? I am genuinely shocked. The Vatican holds billions in assets (real-estate, stock, etc.) and has known revenue in the hundreds of millions. Where does the rest of the money go?

 

[Suudy]

$1.6 million? $1.6 *million *dollars? I am genuinely shocked. The Vatican holds billions in assets (real-estate, stock, etc.) and has known revenue in the hundreds of millions. Where does the rest of the money go?

Perhaps you should sit in on the next audit.

 

[SuperLuigi]

$1.6 million? $1.6 *million *dollars? I am genuinely shocked. The Vatican holds billions in assets (real-estate, stock, etc.) and has known revenue in the hundreds of millions. Where does the rest of the money go?

I wish certain news outlets and liberals were as interested in the Clinton finances as they are with what the Vatican does.

Too add to the prior comment, I also think it’s a bit misleading for anyone to think the Vatican is well-off and rich beyond the rainbow because it supposedly owns all the land Catholic Churches are on, which it does not.

 

[twf]

$1.6 million? $1.6 *million *dollars? I am genuinely shocked. The Vatican holds billions in assets (real-estate, stock, etc.) and has known revenue in the hundreds of millions. Where does the rest of the money go?

Billions in assets, if accurate, is just that…not liquid assets…not annual cash flow. Running the Vatican City State isn’t free. That being said, I don’t think this figure covers all of the charitable work the Vatican does - I think this is donations the Vatican GAVE to other charitable works…not its own agencies and operations. Can anyone confirm that?
Regardless, every Catholic diocese in the world does considerable charitable work… I’m sure the global figure for Catholic charities around the world is in the billions…easily. A lot of people seem to think that the Church’s finances are centralized. In reality each of the 2000+ Catholic dioceses around the world have finances that are completely independent from the Vatican.

 

[Johann_du_Toit]

Billions in assets, if accurate, is just that…not liquid assets…not annual cash flow. Running the Vatican City State isn’t free. That being said, I don’t think this figure covers all of the charitable work the Vatican does - I think this is donations the Vatican GAVE to other charitable works…not its own agencies and operations. Can anyone confirm that?
Regardless, every Catholic diocese in the world does considerable charitable work… I’m sure the global figure for Catholic charities around the world is in the billions…easily. A lot of people seem to think that the Church’s finances are centralized. In reality each of the 2000+ Catholic dioceses around the world have finances that are completely independent from the Vatican.

A similar principle apples to organisations like Catholic Charities and Catholic Relief Services. Although they do receive a portion of their budgets from the Vatican, they likely receive an even larger portion from other Catholic dioceses and direct contributions from generous individual donors. Thus, while they receive their spiritual capital from the Holy See, this does not apply to their financial capital.

 

[EmperorNapoleon]

Too add to the prior comment, I also think it’s a bit misleading for anyone to think the Vatican is well-off and rich beyond the rainbow because it supposedly owns all the land Catholic Churches are on, which it does not.

I’m not including the land on which Churches sit. The Vatican has vast commercial and residential property holdings in Europe worth billions such as sports centers, shopping malls, hotels, blocks of flats, etc. Its possession of an estimated 110,000 properties in Italy alone (~20% of all property in Italy) prompted the Italian government to rescind its property tax exemption in 2012 because they serve no religious purpose.

Billions in assets, if accurate, is just that…not liquid assets…not annual cash flow. Running the Vatican City State isn’t free. That being said, I don’t think this figure covers all of the charitable work the Vatican does - I think this is donations the Vatican GAVE to other charitable works…not its own agencies and operations. Can anyone confirm that?

That is what I want to know also. The Vatican’s known revenue is in the hundreds of millions and it was announced in December that they have hundreds of millions in bank accounts that were not reflected on their balance sheets. So where does all of that go?

 

[ProVobis]

That is what I want to know also. The Vatican’s known revenue is in the hundreds of millions and it was announced in December that they have hundreds of millions in bank accounts that were not reflected on their balance sheets. So where does all of that go?

I thought it was announced after revaluating the assets, they “found” $1.5 billion in assets. It was also a concern of some bishops that they didn’t have of a cash flow to fully fund their pension. So I’m baffled myself with this sudden generosity.

 

[Havard]

Can we please talk about terms for a second?

This article is incredibly poorly written (or translated). The amount it reports is the amount that the Office of Papal Charities directed to charity. This office is an expression of the pope’s personal attention to the poor. It is not the sum total of charitable expenditures for the Holy See.

This is just another example of terrible journalism. Yahoo! News’ standards are horrible, I strongly suggest use of other sources.

 

[twf]

I’m not including the land on which Churches sit. The Vatican has vast commercial and residential property holdings in Europe worth billions such as sports centers, shopping malls, hotels, blocks of flats, etc. Its possession of an estimated 110,000 properties in Italy alone (~20% of all property in Italy) prompted the Italian government to rescind its property tax exemption in 2012 because they serve no religious purpose.

That is what I want to know also. The Vatican’s known revenue is in the hundreds of millions and it was announced in December that they have hundreds of millions in bank accounts that were not reflected on their balance sheets. So where does all of that go?

I think Havard just answered our question. If this simply reflects what the Office of Papal Charities gave out, then that is just a drop in the bucket compared to the various efforts the Vatican oversees or is involved with. That is simply the Pope’s personal charitable agency, which I think primarily works in the local area.