NEW YORK (NY)
America Magazine
Dec. 12, 2019
By Colleen Dulle and James T. Keane
An article published yesterday by the Wall Street Journal, by Francis X. Rocca, had a provocative, even shocking headline: “Vatican Uses Donations for the Poor to Plug Its Budget Deficit.” Focusing on Peter’s Pence, a worldwide collection for the pope’s charitable needs, the article stated that only 10 percent of the yearly collection, which the article estimated at $55 million (though in past years it was higher), goes to charitable works and that two-thirds of the money is used to cover the Vatican’s growing deficit.
Is the Vatican misleading donors to Peter’s Pence? The website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops explains the purpose of the charitable drive, usually held in U.S. parishes on the last weekend in June, as follows: “Today, the Peter’s Pence Collection supports the Pope’s philanthropy by giving the Holy Father the means to provide emergency assistance to those in need because of natural disaster, war, oppression, and disease.”
The Vatican itself is more circumspect in its description of the charitable drive. “It is an offering that each member of the faithful decides to give to the Pope so that he can provide for the needs of the entire Church,” states the Vatican website for Peter’s Pence, “especially in those places where the Church experiences greater difficulties.” Further, the pope’s charitable works “extend to the whole of humanity, at whose service the structures of the Church exist. For this reason, Peter’s Pence also contributes to the support of the Apostolic See and the activities of the Holy See.”
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