Pope Francis redirects employee bonuses to charity

c. 2013 Religion News Service

VATICAN CITY (RNS) Vatican employees won't receive the special bonus they are traditionally awarded when a new pope is elected, the Vatican confirmed on Thursday (April 18), under orders from Pope Francis to give extra money to charity instead.

    "On account of the difficult situation of the general economy, it seemed neither possible nor opportune to burden Vatican institutions with a considerable unforeseen extraordinary expense," the Vatican's chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said in an emailed statement.