From the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal (hat tip to TitusOneNine):
The Vatican’s struggle to make ends meet dashes one of the enduring myths about
the Church – its tremendous wealth. Certainly, the Vatican is stuffed with
mind-boggling treasures. Its museums are filled with Michelangelos, Leonardos
and Raphaels. The value of St. Peter’s Basilica alone is astronomical.But the
Vatican has no intention of ever selling its masterpieces. In fact, it lists all
its priceless works of art, including the Sistine Chapel, on its books at a
nominal value of €1 each, as a way of indicating it prizes their religious and
artistic significance over their financial worth. …
(Extra paragraphing added.)
This reminded me of a scene in the marvelous novel The Vicar of Christ: the fictional first
American pope, a Marine war hero and former U.S. chief justice, provokes howls
of outrage among curialists when he proposes selling off the Vatican’s art treasures to raise
money for a global renewal of the church’s mission work.
I can grudgingly go along with the idea that cathedrals and impressive church buildings
are worth the money. They serve as visible public reminders of the church, and thus help the Body of Christ to reach out to the unchurched, at least to some extent.
Works of art are another matter. "Religious and artistic significance” are nice things, to be sure. But so is the in-the-trenches work of
preaching the gospel, feeding the hungry, tending the sick, etc. — which always could use more money.
I have the same qualms about gold chalices and
patens, ornate vestments, and the like. Sure, they’re beautiful. Their beauty doubtless plays at least some role in changing lives for God. But we spend a lot of money on such things; are there really no better “investments” we could make in our “business” using that money?
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