Five days ago, since Pope Francis was hospitalized because of complications caused by one, he grew concern about the health of the pontiff. This is because, in recent times, he has been showing fragility in his health. At the age of 88, when facing constant complications, a question is in the air: what happens if Francisco dies? In addition to the succession of the position, another issue also arises. Does Pope leave inheritance?
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The answer is yes, like anyone else, the Pope leaves inheritance. And it is not everything to the church, because goods obtained outside clerical activity are subject to the laws of the country of the religious. Therefore, he can make a will or leave these civil laws.
Small detail
But a detail can complicate everything. In several countries, by leaving all assets active, the person can also leave the passive. That is, he can also leave debts.
In the case of Benedict XVI, five cousins could divide the goods left by the retired Pope, who died in 2022 at the age of 95. But at the time, none of them were willing to play in these goods. This is because, by Germany laws, by accepting the money the heir also assumes any legal claims against the deceased.
The problem is that Joseph Ratzinger, the original name of the former paw, was a defendant in one of the most rumor cases of Germany’s clerical sexual abuse. His problems began in 1980 when he was the archbishop of Munich, and the reverend Peter Hullermann was transferred from Essen to the state capital. Hullermann had been charged with eight cases of child abuse in Essen, but while Munich was informed of his history, the public was not.
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After undergoing therapy, Hullermann returned to normal ministry near Munich, without any mention of his past problems. This gave him access to minors once again, and in 1986 he received an 18 -month sentence from a local court for sexually abusing 11 boys. Then the priest was sent near the Austria border, and the abuse continued. In 2008, he was transferred again to a thermal city south of Munich. There, in 2010, he was suspended as a priest and finally deprived in 2022.
The former party denied knowing about Hullermann until January 2022, when a report on sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich showed that he had not only attended a 1980 meeting on Hullermann’s transfer as the change approved.
One of the victims, Andreas Perr, filed a lawsuit claiming that he had been sexually abused by Hullermann in the 1990s. In the action, Perr asked 50,000 euros for damage and another 300,000 euros for the Munich archdiocese, which did not prevent the advance of cases. In addition, he asked the defendants to pay any future costs resulting from the abuse.
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Faced with these omission accusations, the Pope’s heirs departed. Bento XVI assistant, Archbishop Georg Gänswein, even contacted his little cousins still alive when he began to perform the will, but several of them have declined without even knowing how much the inheritance would be, in the face of the prospect of taking on the burden From the scandal that launched Ratzinger’s legacy.
How is it in Brazil
Here, debts do not overcome the inheritance. That is, if the liability is larger than the asset, the heirs are not held responsible. Thus, as the heirs do not respond for any crimes committed by the deceased, because the criminal penalty is very personal, as explained by lawyer Marina Denmarco, partner of family law and successions of the office Marina Denmarco Advogados.
Won’t everything go to the church?
Marina explains that the goods of the Pope or the priests in general are not considered “ecclesiastical goods”, that is, they are not property owned by the Church. For the Pope to allocate his heritage to the church, he needs to make a will.
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But in Brazil, the destination of totality is only possible if there are no descendants, ascendants or spouses and companions, the heirs deemed necessary. For these, the law reserves 50% of the assets.
Since diocesan priests and the Pope cannot marry and have children, their assets could be left to living parents or grandparents. If the priest has not left living relatives, the inheritance would be considered “vacant”, ie it could be returned to the state, according to the lawyer.
