in the division of the funds. At present it is not possible to designate an Islamic organization, despite Italy's population of over 1.4 million Muslims. Issues cited include a lack of a single central authority for the religion, concerns over Islamist extremist organizations being the recipients of funds, and Muslim beliefs on polygamy, education and women's rights that potentially contradict the Constitution. Utilisation Although the 1985 law on the matter declared that the state's portion of the proceeds was to be devoted to extraordinary expenses, such as world hunger, natural disasters and refugees, since 2004 a large proportion is employed for general purposes. In 2004, €80 million out of a total of about €100 million were thus employed, leading to criticism of the fact that part of it was used to finance the Italian military mission in Iraq. Because of its financial situation in 2011, the government decided to utilize the entire sum of about €145 million for purposes other than those indicated in the 1985 law: for instance, €57,277,063 were spent on improving the prison infrastructure. The purposes for which the religious groups may use their portions are laid down in the agreements entered into with the government. In the case of the Catholic Church, the purposes are specified in article 48 of the 1985 law: "worship needs of the people, support of the clergy, charitable activities in favour of Italian society and the Third World". Each year the Italian Episcopal Conference publishes the proportions it assigns under various headings. Thus at its meeting in May 2012 it approved the following distribution (in thousands of euros): 1,148,076 Total amount received (100.0%) 479,226 Worship and pastoral work (41.7%) 156,000 To the dioceses (for worship and pastoral work) (13.6%) 190,000 Buildings for worship (16.5%) 125,000 New buildings for worship (10.9%) 65,000 Safeguarding cultural property of the Church (5.7%) 64,226 Fund for catechesis and Christian education (5.6%) 12,000 Regional ecclesiastical tribunals (1.0%) 57,000 Needs of national importance (5.0%) 255,000 Charitable activities (22.2%) 125,000 To the dioceses (for charity) (10.9%) 85,000 Third World (7.4%) 45,000 Needs of national importance (3.9%) 363,850 Financial support of the clergy (31.7%) 50,000 Reserve for future use for worship, pastoral work and charity (4.4%) The financial support for the clergy brings their salary up to a certain level, such as €852.93 a month for a priest at the beginning of his service, and €1,308.57 a month for a