𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗜𝗦' 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗦𝗠 𝗢𝗙 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣'𝗦 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗦 𝗗𝗘𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗦~𝗪𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦

                                      

A few days ago we posted an article quoting Pope Francis's remarks about Trump's promised mass deportations.  The pope referred to the deportations as "a major crisis," adding that the process "damages the dignity of many men and women and of entire families and places them in a particular state of vulnerability and defenselessness."

Pope Francis also seemed to reply to remarks by Vice President Vance in which he said people should care for their family, communities and country before caring for others.

Francis wrote that "people should meditate on love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.  Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups," he said.

A couple commenters pushed back on the pope's statements.

One commenter wrote:  "The Pope had the power to speak against Trump before the election. The pope just said 'choose the least evil' because he wanted the candidate that was against abortion. So, the Pope has no moral standing to speak in favor of the immigrants anymore."

Another commenter said this:  "Pope Francis is a hypocrite. If anyone entered Vatican City, which is a Country, illegally and wanted to stay, they would be removed immediately. Vatican City and the Catholic Church are worth billions of dollars, some estimate $40-$170 Billion and maybe up to $1 Trillion. Regardless of the amount, no church should be worth that kind of money if they are truly doing God's work. The Pope doesn't practice what he preaches. If he did, he would start using all of the wealth of the Catholic Church to help people and lead by example. Let's see how many immigrants they take in at Vatican City."

Now, as a nonreligious person, I don't have a dog in this fight, but, let's see what we can find out.

                                   

First of all, the Vatican or Vatican City is a nation-state, a country, if you will, but a tiny one, with a land area of 49 hectares or 109 acres, about 1/8 the size of New York City's Central Park at 843 acres.  The 2024 population estimate was 499, down from 918 in 1960.  

Bankers estimate the wealth of the Vatican at $10-15B.  To put that in perspective, Elon Musk, said to be the world's richest man, has an estimated fortune of over $400B.  The so-called $100B club currently has 16 members, with their collective fortune growing by an estimated $900B in 2024.

Pope Francis himself, a member of the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits, has taken a Vow of Poverty, meaning he should not have any personal monies with his living expense taken care of by the Vatican.

However, Pope Francis has money under his control.  Once a year, local Catholic churches take up a collection for Peter's Pence, a discretionary fund under control of the Pope, about $50M annually.  

In 2023, the Peter's Pence fund spent $103M, $90M going to the Holy See and $13M to charities. (Holy See is just a fancy word for the government offices of the Vatican.)  So, it appears that the majority of the monies contributed by Catholic churches around the world goes for the Vatican's operating expenses, not charity. Yet, it's been reported that Pope Francis recently sent $500,000 to assist migrants in Mexico. 

I asked if Catholic Charities RGV on Price Road gets funds from the Vatican or from Peter's Pence and learned they do not.  

Now, back to the two readers questions.

Did the Pope lose some moral authority by NOT speaking up about Trump BEFORE the election?  

I think that's actually a fair point.  Trump has already served one term as President and made his intentions clear about mass deportations before winning a second.  Pope Francis missed an opportunity for certain.

Now the other reader stated that the Pope was a hypocrite because the Vatican did not accept immigrants.

Now, as we stated, the Vatican is a tiny, tiny country, 49 hectares, less than .2 square miles with already 500 or so residents.

But, it's unfair to say the Vatican has taken no interest in immigrants/refugees.  

In 2021, the Vatican transferred 12 asylum seekers from Cyprus to Italy as a gesture of solidarity with European countries. 

In 2016, Pope Francis brought 12 Syrian refugees from the Greek island of Lesbos to Italy. He pledged to support them as they began their new lives. 

Pope Francis has also welcomed refugees arriving in Europe through the "Humanitarian Corridors" project. 

OK, we've laid out some facts, but does this answer the questions raised by our two readers?  

To respond to that, we'll use a phrase from Jesus' words as at Saint Matthew, Chapter 24, verse 15:

"Let the reader use discernment."