Vatican: Pope Francis cuts cardinals’ salaries again

Pope Francis decided to once again cut the salary of cardinals who work in the Vatican, a measure that will begin to be applied from next Friday, November 1.

According to reports ANSAit was the prefect of the Secretariat of Economy, the layman Maximino Caballero Ledo, who informed the cardinals of this decision of the Holy Father, in a letter dated October 18, almost a month after another letter from Pope Francis on the topic.

Specifically, the cut in salaries or stipends will occur in two items: the “secretariat bonus” and “office compensation”, two concepts that were part of the monthly allowances and that will no longer be delivered.

Although the Vatican does not specify how much a cardinal who works in the Vatican received, ANSA indicates that it is approximately 5,500 euros. With the current cut, that amount would decrease by just over 10%, about 500 euros.

In his letter to the cardinals, the Prefect of Economy also points out that there are “other measures, which are being studied by the competent organizations” and that “will require the contribution of everyone.”

Caballero also indicates that he trusts that this measure “will be accepted in the most authentic spirit of cooperation for the good of the Church.”

In his September letter, Pope Francis indicated to the cardinals that “further efforts are needed, on the part of everyone, so that the ‘zero deficit’ is not just a theoretical objective but an actually achievable goal.”

The Italian newspaper The Messenger specifies that, together with the decrease in donations from Saint Peter’s Pence, the cost of maintaining the payment of the 4,000 Vatican employees amounts to about ten million euros per month.

The last Vatican budget showed a deficit of 83 million euros.

According to the Spanish media Europa Pressthis cut in the cardinals’ salaries will allow them to “save 180,000 euros per year, a symbolic figure and a gesture that lays the foundations for being able to request sacrifices from other senior Vatican officials.”

The cut before the cardinals

In March 2021, Pope Francis decided to reduce the salary of cardinals serving in the Vatican by 10%, to “safeguard current jobs” and guarantee “an economically sustainable future.”

The Holy Father then explained that the salary reduction was justified “given the deficit that has characterized the economic management of the Holy See for several years” and “taking into account the worsening of this situation after the health emergency caused by the spread of Covid-19.” 19, which has negatively affected all sources of income of the Holy See and the Vatican City State.”

The measure came into effect on April 1, 2021.

Furthermore, in March 2023, Pope Francis decided to eliminate the possibility for cardinals and other senior Vatican officials to dispose of homes owned by the Holy See for free or with advantageous conditions.

Surprise of Vatican laypeople at bonuses

In the midst of this cut, the ADLV, the association of lay workers of the Vatican, expressed, according to ANSA, its surprise at some measures taken in the opposite direction to the cardinals’ salary cuts. They said they were “incredulous, although happy for the generous and certainly deserved gratification received by our colleagues.”

“This is our feeling after learning about a second round of assignment of functional levels in the APSA (Apostolic See Patrimony Administration) just a year after the first and unexpected distribution, which also surprised Vatican employees.”