Good News and Very Bad News In Vatican Budget (An American Scandal) (Update)

UPDATE- A closer looks t the numbers from the Vatican News service

Good news the Vatican is the black. Bad news the Peter's Pence worldwide collection numbers went down and are embarrassing.

BBC has the numbers here. See Vatican budget emerges from the red

However we learn But annual donations from churches worldwide - known as Peter's Pence - were down nearly $15m to $67.7.

Peter's Pence:Peter’s Pence Collection supports the Pope’s philanthropy by giving the Holy Father the means to provide emergency assistance to those in need because of natural disaster, war, oppression, and disease.

That is a stupdily low number. 67.7 million could or should come form the USA alone if it was properly promoted. Why is it not? I learned about it 10 seconds before the collecton this year.

95 percent of Catholic I bet have no idea what it's used for. Imagine if Catholics just got a simple one page just off the Parish copier list of what the Pope used that for all in our name. BET it would triple.

There has been a lot of talk about the Vatican and Catholic use of social media. Why not use it for this. Every week it seems people running for President have money bombs online. Imagine just imagine if Catholics did that here is the USA online.

Here is an indictment of us Catholic online. How much criticism of the need to reform where the American Bishop's second collection for the Campaign for Human development. A good bit. Some of that criticism is valid. Yet I never see these Catholics promote on their blogs the Church's other second collections including the one for the Holy Father.

Beyond that is the Vatican budget itself. Many Americans want the Vatican to get more media savvy, take a more active hand in sexual abuse investigation, get their message out more effectively and quicker. Well folks that takes money.