The Pope has decreed that cardinals and bishops pay for the apartments where they live in the Vatican, by establishing that no leader of the Curia may have a property from the Holy See "free of charge or under particularly favorable conditions", according to a new provision published by some Italian media such as the newspaper 'Il Gazzetino'.
According to the new regulation - the so-called 'Rescriptum', which has not yet been officially confirmed by the Vatican press office - it has been ordered "the abolition of free and advantageous accommodation for cardinals, heads of Departments, presidents, secretaries, undersecretaries , executives, auditors and their equivalents, of the Roman Rota Court", although the text does not mention the possibility of evictions. Instead, it has been established that the leases of the houses be rescheduled, as stipulated, without prejudice to the existing contracts.
The Pope has thus requested that "everyone make an extraordinary sacrifice to allocate greater resources to the mission of the Holy See", by resolving that the members of the Rome Curia begin to pay out of pocket for the homes they occupy, in some cases , great Vatican palaces. The rule extends to all "property owned by Curial Institutions and Entities that refer to the Holy See" and its objective is to increase "income from the management of real estate."
This also includes the application of rents for the use of real estate that are analogous to those used in Italy for those who do not work or provide services to the Holy See or the Vatican City State. The new provision "does not have any effect on the facilities already granted on the date of its entry into force and, therefore, the contracts already stipulated before the entry into force of this provision will continue until their natural expiration, but may be extended or renewed only in accordance with the previous provisions", the text adds.
This is an economic measure that tries to heal the deficit in the balance sheet of the Holy See in recent years, which has been aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic and which is added to Francisco's decision to order a salary cut in the Roman Curia that reached 10% in the case of cardinals.
According to the newspaper 'Il Gazzetino', the Pope made this decision after meeting on February 13, 2023 with the Spanish Maximino Caballero Ledo, current prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy. Caballero Ledo explained to the Pope the "particular gravity" of the economic situation of the accounts of the Holy See. The Pontiff highlighted at that time the need for "everyone to make an extraordinary sacrifice to allocate more resources to the mission of the Holy See, also increasing income from the management of real estate."
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