VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) –– The Vatican’s annual Peter’s Pence figures reveal U.S. donations have fallen to new lows, and though this is temporarily obscured due to a doubling of income from real estate sales, still just fifteen percent of the papal fund is given to charitable projects of “direct assistance.”
The Peter’s Pence collection, according to the Vatican itself, “is the name given to the financial support offered by the faithful to the Holy Father as a sign of their sharing in the concern of the Successor of Peter for the many different needs of the Universal Church and for the relief of those most in need.”
While the description might lead to a supposition that the majority of the Peter’s Pence donation is going to direct charitable projects, the figures do not appear to support this. The report for 2022 was released June 30, and details the total income and expenditures of the Peter’s Pence, otherwise known the Obolo di San Pietro.
Continued decline in donations received
The total income for 2022 was €107 million – a figure nearly double that of previous years – with the total expenditure being €95.5 million.
The Vatican explained the large “significant capital gain” during 2022 as being due “to the sale of real estate assets assigned to Peter’s Pence Fund.” This sale was to the tune of €63.5 million, meaning that only €43.5 million was received from donations in the normal manner – which is less than 2021’s €46.9 million received.
Such a figure represents a continued decline in the Peter’s Pence income which has been notable during Pope Francis’ pontificate.
While the U.S. donations alone were $67 million and $69 million in 2010 and 2011, that figure has since dropped: from $66,842,700 from the U.S. in 2017 to $55 million in 2018, and amounting to just €11 million from the U.S. in 2022.
With the remarkable decline in money donated in such a short space of time, the U.S. donations still account for just over a quarter (25.3%) of the total money donated: the highest total from one area in the world, with only the combined total of unnamed global foundations having a larger percentage of the €45.3 million.
READ: Catholics should be outraged at Vatican’s Peter’s Pence bait-and-switch
Peter’s Pence income is comprised of donations from dioceses around the world, along with direct donations or bequests made to the Obolo. The Vatican’s figures note that the majority (68.5 percent) of money donated is still coming from dioceses or private individuals.
Where is the money going?
According to the Vatican’s 2022 report:
“All collections received by Peter’s Pence aim at supporting two main areas of the Pope’s Universal Mission: funding the activities of service carried out by the Holy See’s Dicasteries, Entities and Bodies and promoting charity initiatives in favor of those most in need. [Emphasis original]
Of the €107 million received during the year, the Vatican used €93.8 million: with €77.6 million going to the unspecified usage of “Support to the Apostolic Mission” and the minority of €16.2 million (or just 15.1%) being given to charitable works or “projects of direct assistance.”
The “Apostolic Mission” is widely-defined, with the Vatican including among its purview the “proclamation of the Gospel to the promotion of integral human development, from the training of priests to the education at every level, from diplomatic activity in support of peace to the continuous appeal for fraternity among peoples, from the transmission of the Pope’s Word throughout the world to the needs of cult and internal organization of the life of the Church.”
In fact, the €77.6 million of the Peter’s Pence collection which was used for this only comprised 20 percent of the total €383.9 spent by the various Vatican dicasteries and entities through 2022.
Of the Peter’s Pence funds given to charitable works, the €16 million was given to social projects, as support to the “evangelizing presence of local Churches in need,” and for the “expansion and preservation of the evangelizing presence in new local Churches.”
The non-exhaustive list included projects such as aid to people in Ukraine, construction of maternity wards, support for the training of female religious, and the building of chapels in places like Brazil and Angola.
An unspecified amount of €1.7 million is also listed as an expense, simply given the designation of “Financial and other.”
Full details of the projects funded are not provided, nor is an account given of what happened to the €11.5 million Peter’s Pence funds not used.
Controversy has encircled the Peter’s Pence collection in recent years, particularly in the U.S. in the wake of the ground-breaking testimony of former Papal Nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, which detailed the widespread corruption and cover-up of ex-cardinal Theodore McCarrick amongst Vatican and U.S. bishops.
READ: Only 10% of Vatican’s $55 million ‘Peter’s Pence’ actually goes to poor, Wall Street Journal claims
Indeed, in 2019 the Wall Street Journal’s Vatican correspondent reported that “10 [percent] of donations to the Peter’s Pence collection go to charitable works,” with the remaining funds being used to prop up the Vatican’s failing financial system.
U.S. Catholics subsequently sued the USCCB over “unlawful, deceptive and fraudulent practices” in promoting and collecting funds for Peter’s Pence, arguing that the USCCB “actively” misled Catholics into thinking their money was being used for charitable purposes. In fact, the suit argued much of the money was funneled into private investments, such as Hollywood’s sexually explicit Elton John biopic, “luxury condominium developments” and “hefty, multi-million dollar commissions” to fund managers.
READ: US bishops’ conference denies any wrongdoing in ongoing Peter’s Pence lawsuit, blames parishioners
Italian newspapers, such as Corriere della Sera, reported that Peter’s Pence funds had even been used by the Vatican to fund the sexually explicit Elton John film “Rocketman.” $1 million of Peter’s Pence donations had been invested in the film, and more than $3.6 million invested in the movie Men in Black: International, the lawsuit stated.
With Catholics, particularly in the U.S., now seeming to be increasingly averse to donate to Peter’s Pence, it remains to be seen whether the continued stark decline in donations will have an impact on decisions made in the Vatican.