Pope Francis Dies

[KeepItReal]

2 hours ago, a-447 said:

I'm confused.

Why would any pope be paid $32000 per month? 

Don't they take a vow of poverty? How are they meant to spend such a large salary?

 

He wore white and cream colored clothing all the time...I am guessing it was spent on his dry cleaning bill? 😆

[reader]

When an individual from a religious order (Jesuit, in Francis' case) is elected to the papacy, he leaves the jurisdiction of that order.

The beneficiaries of his trust (as @PeterRScited above) flow to charitable causes. reflecting the manner in which he lived his life.

 

[PeterRS]

3 hours ago, unicorn said:

I hope I'm misunderstanding, but I'd assume he'd leave most of his fortune to the poor. That's a healthy salary if you're room and board are already taken care of. 

That's precisely what the funds for the Trust set up by his siser is set up to do. The money is all to be given away.

1 hour ago, a-447 said:

Why would any pope be paid $32000 per month? 

I have absoutely no idea! But we should not forget that he is essentially the Chief Executive of one of the world's largest wealthy organsations and has to work really hard virtually every day. He basically rules over 1.4 billion people. Should he be paid so much less than Mark Zukerberg, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates or other top businessmen all of whom also have a host of additiona perks? After his retirement when all his Board and lodgings were covered by the Vatican, Benedict XVI was on a pension of US$2,500 per month. He was something of a bon viveur and was frequently seen dining at a nice restaurant close to the Vatican walls.  

How do you compare? The Prime Minster of Singapore who rules over less than 7 million has a salary of US$2.2 million. The Prime Minister of Thailand earns about US$27,000 in a country more than ten times the size - both presumably also have perks. Who is worth what amount?

 

[BjornAgain]

49 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

...How do you compare? The Prime Minster of Singapore who rules over less than 7 million has a salary of US$2.2 million. The Prime Minister of Thailand earns about US$27,000 in a country more than ten times the size - both presumably also have perks. Who is worth what amount?

 

Lee Kuan Yew's philosophy on this, "for the top job you need to pay top dollar, otherwise you'll have corruption".

 

[PeterRS]

33 minutes ago, BjornAgain said:

Lee Kuan Yew's philosophy on this, "for the top job you need to pay top dollar, otherwise you'll have corruption".

That certainly was Lee's view, Additonally he wanted to ensure the very best talent entered government service rather than being wooed away by business corporations. And to a very large extent I believe in Singapore's circumstances he was correct.

But there are virtually no other democracies in the world prepared to accept such a very high level of salaries paid to members of parliament, government ministers and top civil servants. The electorates just would not stand for it. As Lee was to all intents and purposes a dictator - a benevolent one in the view of many - he did what he wanted. He brooked no opposition in parliament and routinely jailed the one or two elected opposition members, often on trumped up charges.

Besides, paying such high salaries did not root out corruption. It still exsts in Singapore  - as witness the mega 1MDB Malaysian financial scandal. Massive amounts of cash were laundered through banks in various countries, including SIngapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore even went to the extent of withdrawing BSI's status as a merchant bank. Other SIngapore banks involved were the mighty DBS, UBS of Switzerland, Standard Chartered and Falcon PBS. A total of eight other banks were penaised for involvement in the fraudulent 1MDB scheme. More than a dozen individuals were also charged and penalised.

In 2024 a former Minister of Transport, S. Iswaran, was sentenced to a year in jail for obtaining gifts of around US$310,000. As  Minister, he had been receiving a salary and official benefits of US$50,000. Yet he was not charged with corruption. To be corrupt in Singapore the prosecution has to prove that the accused not only accepted gratification, but also that these bribes affected their judgment. Many minor officials have been convicted of what to all intents and purposes is corruption.

[Keithambrose]

1 hour ago, PeterRS said:

That certainly was Lee's view, Additonally he wanted to ensure the very best talent entered government service rather than being wooed away by business corporations. And to a very large extent I believe in Singapore's circumstances he was correct.

But there are virtually no other democracies in the world prepared to accept such a very high level of salaries paid to members of parliament, government ministers and top civil servants. The electorates just would not stand for it. As Lee was to all intents and purposes a dictator - a benevolent one in the view of many - he did what he wanted. He brooked no opposition in parliament and routinely jailed the one or two elected opposition members, often on trumped up charges.

Besides, paying such high salaries did not root out corruption. It still exsts in Singapore  - as witness the mega 1MDB Malaysian financial scandal. Massive amounts of cash were laundered through banks in various countries, including SIngapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore even went to the extent of withdrawing BSI's status as a merchant bank. Other SIngapore banks involved were the mighty DBS, UBS of Switzerland, Standard Chartered and Falcon PBS. A total of eight other banks were penaised for involvement in the fraudulent 1MDB scheme. More than a dozen individuals were also charged and penalised.

In 2024 a former Minister of Transport, S. Iswaran, was sentenced to a year in jail for obtaining gifts of around US$310,000. As  Minister, he had been receiving a salary and official benefits of US$50,000. Yet he was not charged with corruption. To be corrupt in Singapore the prosecution has to prove that the accused not only accepted gratification, but also that these bribes affected their judgment. Many minor officials have been convicted of what to all intents and purposes is corruption.

For the same reasons, Judges in Singapore  are also highly paid.

[unicorn]

7 hours ago, a-447 said:

I'm confused.

Why would any pope be paid $32000 per month? 

Don't they take a vow of poverty? How are they meant to spend such a large salary?

 

Especially since it's a job for life--not as if they need to save for retirement. I don't think most priests take a vow of poverty. I'm definitely no expert when it comes to Catholicism, but my understanding is that it's monks, nuns, and Jesuits who take a vow of poverty. I may be wrong, though. 

[vinapu]

15 hours ago, unicorn said:

That orange asshole didn't even dress in black at the funeral. 

 

 

as much as I'm not fan of Trump that is least of world' problems with his . He dressed for an occasion ditching even his habitual  red tie and I don't see anything wrong with his dress. 

not long ago we were marveling at idiocy of his VP scolding Zelensky for not showing up in suit for White House visit