mistress of the vatican.pdf - End Time Deception

Mistress of the Vatican
collected from indulgences, benefices, graces, privileges, offices, and
taxes went into the datary, which then dispensed the funds to other departments,
or to the pope’s relatives and friends, according to papal instructions.
The individual who served as datary was in the enviable position of
being able to put his hand in the till without anybody knowing about it,
at least as long as his theft was acceptably modest. In an era when accounting
referred to scribes scratching lists of numbers on pieces of paper,
there was ample room for fraud. Moreover, the position guaranteed
the datary large bribes from those seeking pensions and honors from
the church.
The selling of church and government offices was standard practice
and a reliable way for the Vatican to make money. Each office was an
investment that brought a guaranteed annual income. The position of
protonotary, for instance—whose job it was to write the lives of the
saints—was sold for 7,000 scudi and offered 400 scudi revenue a year.
The office of lead, which ensured that all papal bulls had lead seals attached,
cost an impressive 23,000 scudi up front but brought an annual
income of 3,000. The transaction was a gamble for both the buyer and
seller of the office. If the buyer lived for decades, the church lost money.
If he died immediately after purchasing it, the church could turn around
and sell it again.
The problem with office selling was that the most qualified candidate
for the position was usually not the candidate with the deepest
pockets. Many who bought an office had no intention of doing the
work and subcontracted it out for a lower price, pocketing the profit.
Sometimes the buyer was too cheap to hire a replacement and pocketed
the entire salary without doing any of the work; in this case someone
else in the office would have to write about the saints or order the lead.
Rome was not alone in selling offices and titles. In England, kings
routinely sold noble titles to raise money for an empty exchequer. James
I (reigned 1603–1625) came up with a new title—baronet—which he
sold for over a thousand pounds to whoever wanted it. Many butchers
and tailors who had run profitable businesses were suddenly able to buy
their way into English nobility. His first year as king, James sold 838
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