The
Vatican is the official headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church as well as the residence
of the pope. The word Vatican is from the Latin vaticanus,
which means hill, but the term Vatican also refers to the authority and jurisdiction of
the Pope. The Vatican runs very much like a government,
appointing its own ambassadors as well as receiving ambassadors from other countries. It is recognized by world powers and most
nations have ambassadors there. So how influential is this small city-state? That’s what we’ll be looking at today,
in this episode of The Infographics Show: How Much Power Does the Vatican Have? Before we explore the power of this huge religious
institution, let’s first look at its history. Vatican City was founded in 1929, following
the signing of the Lateran Pacts, a treaty and financial agreement between the Holy See,
an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church, and the Kingdom of Italy. It's not only home to the Pope, but also a
raft of iconic art and rich architecture, including the Sistine Chapel- famous for Michelangelo’s
ceiling. As a sovereign state, it is recognized under
international law, so though Vatican City is situated slap bang in the middle of Rome,
you can think of it like a mini country with its own jurisdiction. The Vatican has a judge, a tribunal, an appeals
court, and a Supreme Court. These were all put into effect in November
1987, and their role is to serve and exercise authority in the name of the Pope. Vatican City has a population of 1,000, most
of whom are working as part of the church- Cardinals and Bishops, members of the Curia,
seminarian students, and visiting clergy. The Vatican is not just a center of the Catholic
religion, it’s the center of government for Catholicism. So where does the pope fit in? The Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church
worldwide, so if the Vatican was a business, he could be likened to a CEO. Or if The Vatican were a government, then
he would be The President. The College of Cardinals elects the Pope,
and he holds all legislative, executive, and judicial powers. The current pope is Pope Francis, who was
born Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was elected as the 266th pope of the Roman
Catholic Church in March 2013. He is Argentinian and the first pope from
the Americas. Ok, that’s enough history on the Vatican
and its spiritual leader. So how powerful is this religious giant? Although many consider the Vatican to be a
spiritual kingdom, it is actually far more than that. Unlike any other church, as we explained,
the Vatican is an independent state which puts it in a unique position. Just like a big business with cash to spend,
the Vatican has assets including land and real estate in many different countries, and
as a result it has influence worldwide. And because it’s a church, its assets and
income are tax-free. According to an article on The Nasdaq, or
American stock exchange, The Vatican Bank manages $64 billion of assets on behalf of
its 17,400 customers. It owns $764 million in equity, and keeps
gold reserves worth over $20 million with the U.S. Federal Reserve. Until very recently, the Vatican’s banking
system has resisted pressure for financial transparency, arguing that its church status
made it exempt from external audits or investigations. But in the last few years, there has been
more scrutiny on the churches finances, and with so much wealth at stake, it’s maybe
not a complete surprise that The Vatican Bank is often at the center of scandal and corruption
charges. Cleaning up the bank has been a focus area
for Pope Francis, who labeled his intentions as part of an "honesty and transparency" campaign. Officially, Vatican Bank accounts are only
meant to be held by residents of Vatican City and church personnel, but according to Gerald
Posner, a Vatican bank scholar and the author of "God's Bankers," there are also powerful
Italian officials who have accounts with the Vatican Bank so they can hold money without
paying taxes. In recent years, the bank has closed over
4,000 accounts in an effort to eradicate this corruption. Another shady case with the Vatican was when
the Vatican bank released its 2014 financial statements announcing that it had more than
$1.2 billion in assets that weren't on the previous balance sheet. That’s a big number for the accountant to
miss! What else did we learn about the Vatican from
these balance sheets? The Vatican has two main entities, The Holy
See, and Vatican City State. The Holy See reported a deficit of $27.9 million
in 2014, even though it received over $58 million from the Vatican Bank. But then it does have a large staff payroll
with its 2,880 employees absorbing a total of $147 million off the bottom line of that
2014 balance sheet. The Vatican City State is responsible for
running the Vatican Museums, and in 2014 had a surplus of $74 million, so that makes up
for some of those staff losses. Tourism is also a major component of the church’s
success. According to Vatican figures there are estimated
to be 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world. Many of these people travel to see the grand
architecture, the museums housing ancient artifacts, and of course catch a glimpse of
The Pope. Vatican City is a tourist hot spot and visitation
has tripled under the popular Pope Francis. Between 2013 and 2015, more than 12 million
people visited the Vatican for events featuring the Pope. And those figures are only for events inside
the Vatican. Pope Francis also travels, garnering as many
as 13 million additional visitors flocking to see him in other places. All this helps to spread the influence of
the Pope and the church. The Vatican has even managed to reap some
rental revenue, when in October 2014 the Sistine Chapel was rented out for the first time to
the automaker Porsche for a corporate charity event. Forty Porsche enthusiasts, at a cost of $5,900
per head, were the first group of people treated to a private tour under the Vatican's new
program: Pope Francis' Art for Charity project. The Porsche clients enjoyed a private concert
while admiring the famous ceiling painted by Michelangelo. A far cry from what the Sistine Chapel's normal
20,000 daily visitors get, which is a quick glance at the chapel before they're rushed
out of the door. Though there is a lot more transparency with
the Vatican, it’s still not easy to get the kind of information you would with a publically
listed company, where everything is shared online. What we do know is that much of the cash and
assets are distributed around the world, even including large sums of money held in Swiss
Bank accounts. It’s clear the church is very wealthy and
has global reach & influence due to the distribution of that wealth, and that Pope Francis continues
on his crusade to rid the church of bad apples. The New York Times reported in March of 2018
that a former president of the Vatican bank had been ordered to stand trial on charges
of embezzlement and money laundering, relating to losses of more than $61 million from real
estate sales. This makes him the highest-ranking Holy financial
official to be indicted on charges. So, does this institution have more money
than it needs, or is this wealth important for the long-term survival of the Catholic
religion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! Also be sure to check out our other video
called, What If The US Budget Was Only $100 - How Would It Spend It? Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t
forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you next time!
