Father, I want to be Pope

He said, “Fr. I wish I am the Pope, his salary must be huge, I seriously want to be a priest and become the pope.”

My Response:

“When a ranking cardinal is elected to the Seat of Saint Peter as the Pope, he earns, in effect, a promotion—but with a reduction in pay to zero.”

“You can’t be serious, must you people hide everything from us,” he said, “…like the Pope has no salary of his own akin to other heads of states and many religious leaders?” He continued, “as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby earns just over £85,000 a year.”

I don’t even know whether he thought I was joking or lying but I took it as curiosity.

And to answer this curiosity:

“During the time of COVID-19, when the Vatican City encountered budgeting issues amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Holy See made a budget deficit and Pope Francis ordered budget cuts from cardinals and clerics working in the Vatican. Nevertheless, the pope himself was exempted from the budget cuts SINCE HE DOESN’T RECEIVE ANY SALARY IN THE FIRST PLACE.”

His next reply shocked me.

With a frown on his face he said, “you people are too serious with everything.”

In my mind, I replied:

“What hunger cannot do does not exist, 😂🤣 typical Nigerian, shhhh!!!”

© Fada Henry Charles Umelechi

Truth Series.

Also read: Pope Francis Left Three Gifts in Portugal