Rome has a new mayor, but will she make war on the Vatican?

Alleged: Vatican owes taxes to Rome.

Rome has a new mayor, Virginia Raggi. She is a member of the populist Five Star Movement in Italy, which would be akin to the Bernie Sanders movement in the United States. The Vatican is now waiting to see what tone she will take with the Church.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - According to Raggi, the Vatican owes Rome some money, about 250 to 400 million euros in unpaid taxes. It is unclear if this money is actually owed, and if so, how much is really owed, but the Lateran Treaty should specify this total. The Vatican has many properties in Rome and it is unclear what the status of those properties are.

This appears to set the stage for a showdown between Mayor Raggi and Pope Francis, but Pope Francis is himself a populist to some degree and may share some commonality with the liberal Raggi. But Raggi is in her heart, anti-establishment, and nothing is more establishment than the Vatican.

For now, there have been no developments, just a waiting at the Vatican to see what tone Mayor Raggi will strike with the Holy Father.

Her predecessors often attended Mass at various churches in Rome and often struck a conciliatory, favorable tone with the Church. This has long been the privilege of the Church, which has provided fro the sacramental needs of the Roman people for nearly two thousand years.

While the Vatican does have a moral obligation to pay to the Roman people what is owed, we pray that Mayor Raggi continues this tradition and the issue of unpaid debts is resolved amicably and with respect for the long tradition of the Church in Rome.

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