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Vatican City: this time no panettone and sparkling wine under the tree. Beyond the Tiber, this year’s Christmas custom has given way to practicality. The gift chosen by Pope Francis for all the employees who work in the Vatican offices is a rather original gift: five boxes of paracetamol-based flu medicines (which these days, having them at home, can always be useful).
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A small gift that no one on the other side of the Tiber would have thought to receive, although with the first cold of winter and the fear of suffering from a seasonal ailment, having this over-the-counter product on hand could be very useful. Cardinal Konrad Kraiewski, a man of concrete character, used to solving many problems and very listened to in Santa Marta, seems to have suggested to Bergoglio that he make this gift. In these days, the first boxes containing the Viks packs plus day-night have begun to arrive to distribute in the offices. On the packages, a notice was displayed summarizing the Christmas initiative: “Gift of the Holy Father for Vatican employees” with the numerical specification: “5 packages per employee.”
The bonus was generally received with sympathy and optimism by the Oltretevere workers. At the base is the Pope’s thought for people’s health and his concern that they do not get sick. It is almost certain that the almost 4,000 employees – among them workers, officials, administrators – surely have not escaped the financial effort that, in these months of severe economic crisis due to Covid, the Vatican structure is making to keep both positions intact. job. and salaries, despite the blockades due to the confinement, the collapse of tourism and the inactivity of many sectors. The crisis has also hit the Vatican.
The offers have dropped a lot, as well as there has been a drastic and important reduction in the income linked to the Vatican Museums, the main source of income. The Museums have been closed again, perfectly aligned with the provisions announced by the Italian government. Last week, the Governor’s Office notified all staff that to deal with the health emergency, the museum’s activities would remain closed until mid-January, which would mean another blow to the finances of the Holy See.
However, to cut staff – which is the greatest cost – Pope Francis does not want to know and continues to repeat to the cardinals who are part of the Council that helps him rewrite the reform of the curia, that jobs must remain intact. The 2020 budget was approved with a loss of 53 million euros.
The economic situation is certainly not positive, but the new prefect of the Ministry of Economy, Father Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves, has reduced fears: “The Vatican does not run the risk of default.” Meanwhile, Christmas is approaching and yesterday, at the Angelus, Pope Francis recalled that both the tree and the manger, in a kind of equality of conditions, are important symbols even in dark times like these, because they lead us to reflect on the need for a life conversion, more oriented towards others, less attached to money and the logic of “worldliness”.
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