The Vatican has returned to profit after three years in the red but
donations from the faithful fell nearly euro15 million ($22 million), or
18 percent, amid tough economic times and a year in which the priest
sex abuse scandal exploded.
The Vatican issued its annual financial report Saturday, saying it
made a profit of euro9.85 million ($14.3 million) in 2010 following a
loss of euro4.01 million ($5.8 million) a year earlier and losses in
2007 and 2008.
Revenues were euro245.2 million ($356.1 million) against expenses of
euro235.35 million ($341.8 million).
In a statement, the Vatican said
the results showed a continuing positive trend that began in 2009 but
was hampered then by the effects of the global financial downturn.
The separately administered Vatican city state also turned a
euro21.04 million ($30.6 million) profit, thanks primarily to booming
ticket sales at the Vatican Museums.
But donations from individuals worldwide, the so-called Peter's
Pence, were down US$14.8 million at US$67.70 million in 2010, an 18
percent drop from the year before. No explanation was given in the
statement.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said Vatican officials
believed the main reasons for the decrease were related to the lingering
effects of the financial crisis on Catholics' ability to donate, and
the fact that two donations of a few million dollars apiece from
individuals in 2009 weren't repeated in 2010.
The abuse scandal also erupted in 2010 in Europe, traditionally a top
source of donations after the U.S.
Tens of thousands of people have
either formally or informally left the Catholic Church in the wake of
reports that priests sexually abused thousands of young people and
bishops covered up the crimes.
In Austria alone, the number of Catholics who officially left the
church in 2010 was 87,000 – a 64 percent increase over the 53,000 who
formally had their names struck from church registries in 2009.
Such
numbers are easily tracked because members pay a church tax unless they
formally leave the congregation. Pope Benedict XVI's native Germany,
which also levies a church tax on members, has also seen thousands of
people formally quit.
Individual dioceses around the world also make donations to the
Vatican each year to help the pope govern the universal church.
Those
figures were also down in 2010 at US$27.36 million compared to the
US$31.51 million in 2009.
Lombardi said the effects of the abuse scandal on the Peter's Pence
and the diocesan donations wasn't discussed in any depth during meetings
Thursday and Friday of top cardinals to review the numbers.
But he
didn't dispute that such an interpretation of the results could be made.
The Vatican bank, though increased its donations to the pope for his
charitable works by euro5 million ($7.26 million) to euro55 million
($79.9 million), the statement said.
The Vatican has published the annual report since 1981, when Pope
John Paul II ordered financial disclosure as part of his efforts to
debunk the idea that the Vatican is rich.
For the fourth year in a row, no press conference accompanied the
release of the results.
Previously, a senior Vatican cardinal would
explain the Vatican's financial picture on the same day the results were
issued.
A Vatican official said this week that such briefings are
no longer planned.