The Vatican's new philanthropy app could ruin everything

The last time wealthy art fans did a Vatican restoration, they nearly destroyed the Sistine Chapel. The new Vatican app is elitism 2.0 – and will only endanger more masterpieces

From the bankers and princely families of the Renaissance to Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part III (well, OK, that was fiction), the Vatican has history with art patronage. It has a genius for getting money for art from the great and the good, not to mention the bad.

Now it is pioneering new ways of attracting money in the 21st century. The Vatican Museums have launched Patrum, an app designed to create a community of philanthropic supporters for the artistic treasures of the Vatican. It’s a kind of elite crowdfunding venture.

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