New pope will face a Vatican budget crisis and a myriad other problems

VATICAN CITY – Heavy is the white mitre worn by the pope. Whoever emerges from the coming conclave as the new leader of the 1.4 billion-strong Catholic Church will face a myriad of problems.

Among the pressing issues are a widening gap in Vatican finances, church attendance is sliding in many Western countries, and doctrinal debates over issues like ordaining women as clergy and LGBTQ Catholic inclusion portend coming divisions.

The Vatican’s financial crisis was one of Pope Francis’ last headaches. Three days before his last hospitalisation in February, he ordered the creation of a new high-level commission to encourage donations to the Vatican, which is facing a budget shortfall and growing liabilities for its pension fund.

Although the Vatican has not published a full budget report since 2022, the last set of accounts, approved in mid-2024, included an €83 million (S$124 million) shortfall, two knowledgeable sources told Reuters.

The shortfall in the pension fund was estimated to total some €631 million by the Vatican’s finance czar in 2022. There has been no official update to this figure, but several insiders told Reuters they believe it has ballooned.

Reverend Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and commentator who has written about the Vatican’s finances, said the budget woes could have a “tremendous impact” on who the cardinals entering the secret conclave in the coming days choose as the new pope.

“They’re going to have to elect somebody who’s a fundraiser, not a pastor,” said Rev Reese.

If the cardinals are looking for someone who is familiar with where to make funding cuts across the Vatican’s complicated bureaucratic structure, they may turn to Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

A leading papal contender, he was the Vatican’s No. 2 official for nearly all of Pope Francis’ papacy.

But Cardinal Parolin also led the Vatican’s