With all the Pope related threads around it got me to wondering - how much does the pope make? Does he even have a salary? You’d think so, even Popes have to buy birthday and Christmas presents for neices and nephews, don’t they? Maybe the local stores line up to chip in so they can say he shops there.
What other benefits does the job offer? Looks like he gets health okay, but is this a regular policy or just something the local hospitals do because it’s cool and they can brag to their hospital buddies about?
I don’t think the Pope draws a salary. After all, he gets free room and board, at least one new robe a year and a funny hat.
However, he is the head of one of the largest, richest corporations in the world and I imagine there’s at least one person carrying a platinum card of some kind within earshot at all times.
This is slightly OT but there’s a good story in the Wall Street Journal this morning about how Cardinal Edmund Szoka keeps the budget for Vatican City balanced:
"In Vatican City,
A Cardinal Works
To Balance Budget
–
As Head of Tiny Country,
Edmund Szoka Tackles
Traffic, Pushes Retail
–
Cheap Gas, Perfume and Pasta"
Among the high points:
the Vatican keeps it Michelangelos and other artwork on the books at 1 Euro each
the total budget is $190M per year. Retail operations provide over half the revenues; museums and gift shops provide 19%
there’s a mandatory retirement age of 75 but the Pope can waive it (he did for Szoka, who’s 77)
middle managers make almost $1,900 per month
But it doesn’t even hint at the Pope’s salary, presumably because his riches are other-worldly.
What really? So their theft would only be a misdemeanor? The Pieta and Moses will be in my basement within the week. (Too bad the Church doesn’t own The David.)
–Cliffy
P.S. If the Pieta or Moses do turn up missing anytime soon, boy am I gonna be in hot water!
Most priests and nuns do take a vow of poverty. In practice, this means that the order or the parish would own items for the use of the priest or nun, and they would use it in common with each other.
There are some priests (diocesan) who are stationed at churches and do not take a vow of poverty. They receive a salary from the church and cover their own expenses with it. But as our diocesan priest teases his counterpart who is in community: “You take the vow of poverty, we actually live it!”
Many years ago, I accompanied a Catholic girlfriend to some sort of thing at the home of the Bishop of Dallas (I think, I don’t remember the title). His home turned out to be magnificent and the grounds were close to perfect. I was told he owned it personally and that he came from a wealthy family----I don’t know that for sure. But it was a long way from poverty.
There was a priest in my hometown who always drove the newest Corvette and wore Gucci shoes under his gown…he had a rich mommie buying it all for him.
I read the Pope earns no salary, but his needs are taken care of by the church. Thus, if he decided to get those nieces and nephews a nice, wide screen plasma television for Christmas, he would just write it on a list, give it to one of his minions and they would go out and purchase it for him in the name of the church.
My understanding is that Hitler also drew a very small official salary. No, I’m not playing a clever, “The Pope is just like Hitler,” argument, but Hitler was the best example that came to mind to show that official salary can sometimes be a joke when one is the head of a large organization that can provide benefits that themselves are worth millions of dollars.
(Of course, I think Hitler received huge royalties off of Mein Kampf)
I did read today that the Pope had thought about retiring a few years ago. What then? I’m allmost sure that there’s no retired Pope’s home anywhere, so where does he go then.
Someone mentioned the Cardinals having manditory retirement at 75, does anyone know where they go then. I’d assume the Pope could go hang out with them is he pulled the plug.
IIRC the various leaders of the Soviet Union drew only a small salary but received huge benefits.
His last will and testament was read today and it was announced he had no personal property. All that he had was the Vatican’s. (I wonder what becomes of Bono’s sunglasses.) Evidently his income from his books was paid to Catholic charities.
As memory serves, after the real horrors of the Renaissance popes (giving their mistresses and bastards and lovers and nephews etc. lavish villas and building tombs that were necropalaces) there were many reforms made as to exactly how much private wealth the pope could control.
On the subject of salaries, the American president receives $500,000 (taxable) but the cost of housing, transporting, guarding, etc., is between $10 and $25 million per year (depending on how you count such expenses as Air Force One’s crew, etc.).
Probably wherever he wants. All of Poland would have taken John Paul for sure.
My school director when I taught in Africa was a Catholic priest. He’s now “retired” and draws a small pension. He serves as the priest (even in retirement) for a group of cloistered nuns in France. That’s his housing and board.
I think a Pope would only ever retire for very serious health issues. As such, he’d likely be too ill and require to much medical care to really go anywhere. They’d likely find a nice suite in the Vatican somewhere and set him up there with a few doctors and nurses.