Addressing the budget woes at the recent meeting, the pope suggested that Vatican offices could seek outside funding to balance their expenses or ward off staffing cuts, according to the two officials who spoke to Reuters.
Adding to the budget concerns are growing liabilities within the Vatican's pension fund, which were estimated to total some €631 million by the Vatican's finance czar in a 2022 media interview.
Although the Vatican hasn't published a full budget report since 2022, the last set of accounts, approved in mid-2024, included an €83-million (£68 million) shortfall, the two sources said.
And in October, the pope also said there would have to be cuts to the at-least €40 million budget for the Vatican's extensive multi-language media operations.
Two cardinals who oversee the Vatican's budget declined Reuters' requests for interviews and did not provide current budget information.
