Premier Christian News, among other outlets, has reported on criticism of Roman Catholic church leaders here in Spain for how they are proposing that Pope Leo’s forthcoming visit will be paid for.
Apparently online newspaper, CruxNow has seen a dossier, designed to attract private sector donors, which describes a scheme offering varying degrees of access to the Pope in exchange for different levels of financial contribution, from €1,000 to €1 million.
At the top of the scheme are ‘Great Benefactors’, who donate between €500,000 and €1 million and get a private meeting with the Pope, attendance at a Vatican working session, and reserved seating at events throughout the visit. The next tier, of ordinary ‘Benefactors’, are those who contribute between €50,000 and €250,000, and get reserved seating and attendance to a Vatican working session, but no guaranteed meeting with the Pope. There are then ‘Sponsors’, giving between €50,000 and €250,000, who can attend a Vatican working session and call themselves, “Business Ambassadors”, ‘Collaborators’, contributing €10,000, and finally ‘Friends’, who for a €1,000 donation only receive a certificate.
The total cost of the papal visit is estimated at between €15 million and €30 million, and the church’s idea had been to fund it with private donations rather than having to call upon government funding. A spokesman for the organising committee told CruxNow: “Requesting support, in this case, is our way of covering the material costs of a trip of this magnitude without these falling on taxpayers”.
Premier Christian News makes the point that the visit, and its cost, come “at a time when Catholicism in Spain remains culturally significant but is in long-term decline”. It refers to research by the Centre for Sociological Research (CIS), that found some 55% of Spaniards identify as Catholic, but fewer than one in five describe themselves as practising.
Read the full story in Premier Christian News here.