We all remember Cardinal Pell the lovable Archbishop of Melbourne – then the Archbishop of Sydney – the man of the cloth who famously said that that priests who hear confessions from people who commit child sex abuse must remain bound by the seal of confession – what goes in in thbe catholic church, stays in the catholic church – and he spent $1.5 million defending the church against a victim of sexual abuse …

Well, where is he now? The answer, he’s racking up more expenses for the Catholic Church as Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy – a pretty cushy job in the Vatican in Rome – part of the inner sanctum of the catholic church, where he is now being accused of lavish spending. He has reportedly racked up half a million euros in six months, that’s about $750k, flying business class and using large sums on salaries and office furniture – that’s according to an Italian magazine citing leaked Vatican documents. And the Vatican’s defence? 'Passing confidential documents to the press is strongly condemned and is illegal'.

This made me go searching for how much the catholic church spends around the world. Well, I can’t find a global figure, but I did find a report from the Economist from 2010, when the Cathoilic Church in the US spent over $171 billion – 2.7% of which was money for charitable activities.

Look, if you want to live the lavish lifestyle. Sounds like you’d be right at home in the Catholic Church!

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