“The Catholic church, once all her assets have been put together, is the most formidable stockbroker in the world. The Vatican, independently of each successive pope, has been increasingly orientated towards the U.S. The Wall Street Journal said that the Vatican's financial deals in the U.S. alone were so big that very often it sold or bought gold in lots of a million or more dollars at one time.”
![“The colossal mess in Vatican finances that [Pope] Francis inherited has been cleaned up, and cleaned out. Real budgeting and accounting procedures are in place; so are real professionals, not somebody's nephew.” quote by George Weigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a0b/george-weigel-9372_accounting_the-colossal-mess-in-vatican-finances-th_1349672.jpg)
![“[When I die], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of a sad list of people hurt, people let down, assets wasted and advantages squandered.” quote by Anthony Bourdain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ba3/anthony-bourdain-649_advantage_when-i-die-i-will-decidedly-not-be-regre_24502.jpg)
