Donations to the Catholic Church from around the world, are up, despite an international scandal over child abuse by priests.
The Vatican has published accounts showing donations rose to $US82.5 million in 2009, up from $US75.8 million the previous year.
The largest donations came from the United States, Italy and France. The donations are known as Peter's Pence.
However, the BBC reports the church has made an overall loss for the third consecutive year.
