"Who am I to judge them.....I will just take their money.....but you parishioners here to pray......not so fast!"

New York Post, October 17, 2014

How about holding your Sweet Sixteen at the sweet Sistine?

Pope Francis is allowing the endangered Sistine Chapel to be rented out for a corporate event, with the proceeds to benefit the needy — while at the same time cracking down on visitors to the world’s most famous church.

Porsche will be the first to hold an outside fundraiser amid Michelangelo’s fragile frescoes. The luxury German auto giant is offering an exclusive tour of Rome, including a concert inside the chapel, at a cost of more than 4,000 euros ($5,100) a pop.

At the same, the Vatican said Thursday that it would cap the annual number of visitors at 6 million to protect the Renaissance masterpieces from the tourist hordes.

Dust, sweat and human breath have damaged the 500-year-old paintings, including the famous creation scene of God’s outstretched arm giving life to Adam.

Antonio Paolucci, head of the Vatican Museums, said “radical intervention” was needed to preserve the paintings, prompting the Vatican to install new climate and lighting systems to cut down on heat, humidity and dust.

“I am convinced that the Vatican Museums, in particular the Sistine Chapel, have reached the maximum number of visitors possible,” Paolucci said at a news conference to introduce the new lighting and climate systems, according to Reuters.

While Porsche is touting the event on its website, Paolucci downplayed suggestions that the chapel would be regularly rented to outsiders.

“The Sistine Chapel can never be rented because it is not a commercial place,” he said Thursday, according to a US Catholic report.