HOLY SEE HAD NET SURPLUS OF $8.5 MILLION FOR 2000

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2001 (VIS) - Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, president of the Prefecture of the Economic Affairs of the Holy See, announced this morning at a conference to present the Consolidated Financial Statement of the Holy See that there was a net surplus of $8.5 million for the fiscal year 2000. Saying that the surplus came from "a favorable monetary situation," he said the exchange rate used was 2,080 lire to $1. The 1999 surplus was $5 million. This is the eighth consecutive year for a surplus.

The cardinal explained that a Consolidated Financial Statement "represents the sum of all the expenses and income of the diverse Vatican Administrations" which he divided into four categories: 1. Institutional Activity (Secretariat of State, Congregations, Councils, Tribunals, Synod of Bishops and various offices), which closed with a deficit; 2. Financial Activity (seven consolidated administrations, the largest of which is the Extraordinary Section of APSA - Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See), which closed with a net gain; 3. the real estate sector, which had a net gain and 4. Activity of Media Institutions (Vatican Radio, the Vatican Printing Press/L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican Publishing House and the Vatican Television Center). This category closed with a deficit.

However, the president of the economic prefecture singled out Vatican Radio "for applause in view of the enormous activity undertaken during the Jubilee Year" when it transmitted 24,000 hours in 60 languages.

Cardinal Sebastiani underscored that there were elevated expenses due to the Jubilee Year 2000 which necessitated an increase in personnel in many curial offices, especially media offices. About 70 additional people were hired to work in the Roman Curia during the Holy Year. In addition to the "greater general and administrative expenditures," he said there were also "repairs and maintenance of the nunciatures of our papal representatives."

The cardinal concluded by saying that he had presented the Consolidated Financial Statement to Pope John Paul on June 22 and to the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See, which met yesterday.

A communique released this afternoon by the Council of Cardinals stated that Vatican City State, an entity financially separate from the Holy See, had a net gain for the year 2000. The report also announced that Peter's Pence for the year 2000 amounted to $63.6 million: this is $8.3 million more than the previous year.

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