The men in black look like remaining in the black for the fifth year in a row - but only just. The Vatican, which produced its first budget surplus in 1993 after years of deficit spending, this week projected a surplus of income over expenditure of around £350,000 for 1998. The present holder of Peter's purse-strings, Cardinal Szoka, shortly to step down as God's banker, said rendering unto Caesar would cost £114 million in operating expenses next year, a sum hardly envisaged in the time of Peter's pence. Like any good managing director the man in red would prefer to stay in the black, piously stressing the need for "constant vigilance over expenses".

Contributions from dioceses have been critical to the recovery of Vatican finances over the past few years. Donations have risen strongly under Cardinal Szoka's stewardship who has repaired the ravages on both the balance sheet and on the financial credibility of the Holy See after some notable scandals. Since 1992, when the Vatican invoked a canon law obliging dioceses to pay up, contributions have trebled to around £12 million a year. Cardinal Szoka hands over the accounts with the quiet satisfaction of a job well done, but presumably sans share options, profit-sharing schemes or even a "golden goodbye". His reward, naturally, awaits on a more exalted plane.