The eleven cardinals who oversee the Vatican's economic affairs are pleased with the budget forecast for 2012 but concerned about the ongoing economic crisis. The Council of Cardinals for the study of Organizational and Economic problems of the Holy See met this week at the Vatican to review the budget forecast for 2012 and start work on the budget report for 2011. A communique released by the Vatican did not include numbers, but said that the cardinals "expressed their pleasure" at the forecast but also their concern about the crisis "which has not spared the general economic system of the Vatican" The note went on to explain that because most of the Church's funding comes from donations, freely given by the faithful, the effects of an economic crisis are reflected in those donations and impacts the Vatican economy. It is expected that the Vatican will publish more final budget numbers for 2011 in July. In 2010 the Holy See ended the fiscal year with a surplus of $13.1 million while the Vatican City State ended 2010 with a surplus of $28 million. The communique and the summary of the meeting is a glimpse into the wide variety of activities that cardinals are given and how those duties can be both pastoral and administrative. All the more reason to pray for the new cardinals being created in this weekend's consistory.