Swiss Guard outside St Peter's Basilica
Photo ALAMY
The Pope is due to visit Britain later this year and the faithful are to be charged up to £25 a head to see Benedict XVI. It will be the first time pilgrims have been charged to attend events during a papal visit and the charges reflect mounting concerns about the costs of the trip.
Charges will be made for two events: a prayer vigil in London's Hyde Park on 18 September and the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Birmingham the following day. Church officials said the charges are for transportation to the London and Birmingham events but that pilgrims who want to attend must join a parish group and cannot travel independently. They said the charges were being made because the pilgrims would be 'journeying' to see the Pope, just as ancient pilgrims did and would be provided with a 'pilgrim pack'.
The Vatican has been alarmed by the costs of the visit, with the most recent estimates suggesting it will have to find £14m while taxpayers are facing a £20m bill.
The faithful will pay up without complaint no doubt. That's the reason why the Vatican is one of the wealthiest businesses in the world.
Not surprisingly the Vatican appear to have banned 'immodestly' dressed tourists from the entire Vatican City State. For many years those wishing to visit St Peter's Basilica have been required to dress modestly but recently the guards drew aside men in shorts and women with uncovered shoulders and short skirts to tell them they were not dressed properly. Some of the female visitors bought shawls and scarves from nearby sellers (possibly at exorbitant prices) while a few men had to wander off to the nearest shops to buy long trousers.
So be warned. If you intend to visit the Vatican City when in Rome cover up or it could cost you far more than you thought. Why do the words Vatican City and cover up ring a bell with me?
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20 comments:
"why the Vatican is one of the wealthiest businesses in the world."
Is it? Why? It seems to be one of these things that people say and everyone assumes to be true but is the Vatican really as rich as BP or Ford? What do they produce that generates such phenomenal wealth? I can't believe the church collection at Carfin is that lucrative.
"Not surprisingly the Vatican appear to have banned 'immodestly' dressed tourists from the entire Vatican City State."
I was at the Vatican last month and I'm pleased to report a Celtic fan was denied entry because his mate was wearing a vest. It's one misery after another for the Celts these days. You needed a heart of stone not to laugh.
Yours truly was wearing cargo shorts and was permitted entry. You'd need to be a fule to think you could wear hot pants to the Vatican, Shirley.
Are you talking about denied entry to St Peter's William? It's always been the case the people dress, what is referred to as modestly, to enter St Peter's.
The latest is that anyone setting foot within the City boundaries is being asked to cover themselves.
You don't believe the Vatican is wealthy? Oh dear. i suppose you could place them alongside an investment bank. The faithful invest in it. Also of course, it is a State in its own right owning much property of value.
'The colossal wealth of the Vatican includes enormous investments with the Rothschilds in Britain, France and the USA and with giant oil and weapons corporations like Shell and General Electric. The Vatican solid gold bullion, worth billions is stored with the Rothschild controlled Bank of England and the US Federal Reserve Bank.
'The Catholic Church is the biggest financial power, wealth accumulator and property owner in existence, possessing more material wealth than any bank, corporation, giant trust or government anywhere on the globe.' from http://jubilee2012.50webs.com/the_hidden_empire.htm
If information such as the above was incorrect the Vatican's legals would be onto it faster than you could say holy water.
With an original estimate of about £8million, the cost of this visit to you and to me, the taxpayers, has now soared to a staggering £20m for what is only a four day visit.
The catholic church had initially proposed to add an addition £5m of its own funds to cover some costs, but have recently revised that figure to nearer £14m.
None of the costs quoted take into account the cost of policing the visit. That additional cost will be charged after the event.
At a time when each and every one of us is facing the most stringent financial cutbacks, why is our UK Government paying for all of this?
The pope is more than welcome to visit, but surely it is only right that the costs should be borne in full by his church and by his faithful followers.
It has been suggested that this is a state visit – it is not.
The pontiff will not receive any of the normal trappings of a state visit, there will be no state reception, no residence at Buckingham Palace and no banquet with the Queen and other state officials.
There will only be what is described as a ‘meeting’ with the Queen at Holyrood.
I think it's unfair that taxpayers ( the majority of whom don't believe in the sky fairy and angels nonsense of religion ) have to pay for this visit.
The Catholic church has been accumulating it's wealth for centuries. Deluded fools have paid in billions buying freedom from purgatory ( getting peasants to do it for them ).
Nothing will kill the monolith of the catholic church. Colluson with the Nazis, child rape and the latest scandal of priests nipping round to the gay saunas in between services in Rome.
To create a NWO you must first seduce the OWO. Or rape it of course.
It might well have been St. Peter's, SR. I'm only a humble Protestant, mind you.
I'm sure your link is honestly presented but I'm not convinced Prince William is the anti-Christ or that September 11 was perpetrated by Israelis. It seems to me that people say things like 'if the Vatican sold all their treasure they could feed all the starving weans in Africa' but I'm not sure there's much proof of it. They have some wealth but probably not as wealthy or influential as people like to imagine.
William said..
" They have some wealth but probably not as wealthy or influential as people like to imagine."
Well why don't you search for the answer on the internet ? There are thousands of articles which explore the answer in depth.
Go to google and type 'vatican wealth'.
It would save you having to forever wonder and to tell us that you're not sure and so fail to add to the discussion. Next time you can say 'I've researched this and the answer is....'
Subrosa has given you a lead with the Rothschilds
etc.
RM, I've already said that I'm sceptical about the quality of the link supplied by SR. It is, essentially, a conspiracy theory site full of outlandish theories.
I don't think establishing the true financial position of the Roman Catholic Church is as simple as asking Google. This is precisely why I shy away from searching the Internet for such answers. My own opinion is that it is exaggerated but searching the Internet for proof will only lead you down the dead-end of conspiratorial reasoning.
People are entitled to believe what they believe. I'm just saying that I don't.
William
" searching the Internet for proof will only lead you down the dead-end of conspiratorial reasoning."
Well of course there are wacky sites out there . But I was like you and wasn't sure of the truth about Vatican wealth so did some research. There are excellent articles in Time magazine and hundreds of other respected journals who have done the hard graft and listed the inventory of Vatican assets, details of Vatican payments ( £1Bn to victims of paedophilia etc ).
My estimate is that their wealth is about £10Bn but suspect that is too low so am trying to do more research.
Should I wear my burqa?
The Vatican not wealthy, yeah and the bears a catholic and the pope shits in the woods, get real William just what do you think happened to the gold from S.America just one place the catholics stripped bare!
John, I believe anything to do with religion out to be paid for by the followers of that specific religion. No one else.
RM, see my reply to John please.
Yes OR and they're making a good job of it too. :(
Ah William, yer a young man. Wait until you get to my age. No religion is poor and the major ones are exceedingly wealthy.
RMcGeddon has a good idea for you.
William, I only did a very brief search and told you so. As RM says there are many more sites which provide information.
Burqa, nightie, even pyjamas. They all seem acceptable in this day and age Demetrius. Of course you don't call a nightie and nightie ...
Auch Indyan, he's attempting to be controversial. Sadly he's picked the wrong subject.
Will there be a specially dedicated "Popes Lane" from which all other traffic is barred (on pain of a £200 fine), for his Holiness to get to the venue(s) on time?
Apparently one's needed for the Olympic Hob Nobs to get from their 5-star West End hotels to the East End stadia.
That wouldn't surprise me in the least Joe.
I started to watch the propaganda about the Olympics but truthfully, I had to stop after a while. My stomach couldn't handle it so I must have missed the bit about the Hob Nobs. Pleased I missed it really.
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