No euro short change for Church

Some parishes in Malta and Gozo have fared better than others in terms of collections since the euro changeover, but when taken as an average there has been little effect on the Church's coffers.

While some parishes reported a drastic decrease in money collected during church functions, others said their income had doubled since Malta introduced the new currency.

Sources close to the Archbishop's Curia said that in its first month as legal tender in Malta in January, the euro had little effect on parishes when collections were averaged.

Every month, parishes are expected to submit a report on their income and expenditure for the previous month. According to the figures for January, churches reported more or less the same income from church collections. During the first few weeks, contributions during Mass and other religious functions were mostly made in Maltese lira coins but towards the end of the month, contributions were mainly in euro.

There were initial fears that parishioners who used to drop, say, a Lm1 coin in the collection plate would simply reach for a euro coin instead, worth less than half than the currency it was replacing.

According to the Pastoral Financial Report for 2006 of the Archdiocese of Malta, the amount of church collections that year compared with 2005 decreased by €172,400 (Lm74,000). The main reason for the drop, however, was mainly attributed to fewer people attending Mass.

It is also probable that the decrease was caused by the fewer projects being undertaken by parishes.