[quote]
Vatican spokesman Joaquín Navarro-Valls published a press statement saying that “the Pope has not received, and has never received, a salary.”
Um, my electric kettle died today, I only just realised some hours on that water can be heated on the stove or in the microwave and I am sure once I fix the caffeine withdrawal my coding will improve and/or I will have the patience to do a preview.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Thylacine *
**Seems not
Priests and members of Catholic religious orders in general take a Vow of Poverty. The Pope was first a priest.
This doesn’t mean that they live in poverty but rather that they don’t own private property and the means of living are provided to them. Even some amenities are included. I see our local monseigneur on the golf course now and then.
The Pope does not draw a salary, but I’m sure he has a very large expense account to draw from. The Vatican and the RCC is a big institution with a lot of money, although its financial health comes and goes with the times.
He once bummed 500 lira off me in a Rome 7-11 because he hadn’t enough cash to buy a pack of Marlboros.
Seriously, priests are terrible scroungers. I have several relatives who are both. They get a basic salary to cover living costs, and they get housing complete with domestic help, so they never do a thing round the house. One was the virtual king of a rural community and expected a gift from parishoners whenever they came to visit him - a bottle of something, usually. Another partially lived off his parents for their whole lives.