An interesting story has appeared in our newspapers. It seems that the
Vatican is having difficulty with its finances.According to the article,
“The Vatican says it ran a deficit in 2008 as its finances and donations from across the world were hit by the global economic crisis. The financial report released … by the Holy See's press office listed revenues of 253.9 million euros and expenses of 254.8 million euros.”
Now am I supposed to feel sorry for the Vatican? Religious institutions pay NO tax, they have divine intervention from God, yet they always need MORE MONEY!
So where was the money spent?
“Most of the expenses went to support the activities of Pope Benedict XVI and the Holy See's offices, especially Vatican Radio and other media divisions, the financial report showed.” So the money is NOT used to help the poor and disadvantaged but to spread the word! :)
Now I am not trying to have a dig at the Catholic Church. I have no respect for all religious institutions. There is a slang word for money and it is called ‘Mullah’. Do you have any Mullah? And in reality what is a Mullah? ... An Islamic religious figure. It is very interesting that over the years people have equated money and Mullah to be one of the same. I wonder why?

Instead of the Vatican divulging us its receipts and expenses, I personally would like to see its Balance Sheet. I would like to know what the Vatican is actually worth!!!
Now as an Accountant I feel the need to give the Holy Father some advice. As I grow older certain objects I own no longer hold any value to me but they may be of worth to another person. So I am having a bit of a clean out. I am going to put a piano my children no longer play in the Trading Post. Also I have an autograph from Bon Scott (AC/DC) which I managed to get in the 70’s which no longer means anything to me, so I am going to sell it on Ebay.
My advice to the Holy Father is to take some responsibility for your financial situation and stop burdening the faithful to continuously donate more money. The faithful have dire financial problems of their own. Perhaps the Holy Father should have a clean out and convert some of the Vatican’s small objects into cash. Perhaps the Vatican could sell some of its collection of OLD books on ebay? :) I know I would happily place a bid.
Now I do not want to be viewed as stingy. I do donate. I will offer money if a homeless person approaches me in the street. I recently donated to the Bushfire appeal and I have donated to drought-affected farmers who need money to feed their live stock. But donating to the Vatican is like donating money to the Rothschilds! But I do acknowledge the Vatican financial oversight, so I will offer a Prayer. :)