Vatican Church uses the Archdioceses in a number of countries practically as subsidiaries to acquire land holdings. That land is used for Church activities, or

Vatican Church uses the Archdioceses in a number of countries practically as subsidiaries to acquire land holdings. That land is used for Church activities, or actively managed by the Archdiocese, with the Vatican playing a passive investor. I was told this by a church Cardinal (incidentally a German one). And this practice has become especially common in the developing world.