In fairness, the Vatican does have a sizable collection of artwork and real estate that could be sold to feed the poor, if the powers that be decided to sell it.
Still, it galls me that the people who complain loudest about the morally-neutral kind of selfishness ("I wanna keep what's mine!") tend to be the kind of people who wallow in the immoral kind of selfishness ("What other people own should be mine to spend!")
I think part of that feeling derives from the perception that most of the Church's income comes in the form of donations from its members. While the amount of donations they receive worldwide each year from donations is a lot overall(just shy of $10bn I believe), it's nowhere near a major source of their total revenue(closer to $100bn).
Still, finding out about those numbers, I'm kind of hopping that this image's estimate of $3.5m is way shy of the actual. I mean, even if we just look at the donations aspect, that's less than one percent of the money they are given in good faith being used to help those less fortunate. In fact, I'm almost certain that has to be wrong, because the Church participates in a lot of charity and food programs, just in the US.
How do they calculate "revenue"? The local Catholic convent in my area receives revenue because they charge tuition for a couple of schools. But they operate at or near a loss, because they are *providing a service* for that revenue and are always willing to take on another charity student.
So to get an idea of how much money the Catholic Church actually brings in, I'd have to know how much they are profiting after the various services they provide for the money.
From what I can find, the Catholic Church doesn't exactly rake in money hand over fist. They have a lot of expenses. Paying their clergy, upkeep on their cathedrals, and basic day-to-day operations. That $100bn is gross, not net.
As far as spending money that the church makes on the "business" end of things(tuition, rent), I don't think that the Church can be faulted for spending that however they want, just like any other business.
The estimates I find for worldwide donations is close to $10bn, and as far as spending that goes: if the Catholics themselves aren't upset with how little goes to actual charities, then that should be the end of the matter. They're the ones who are donating it after all.
How little goes to charities... that's another question altogether.
The local Catholic highschool costs less than any of the surrounding schools, public or private. Part of the reason that they can do this is because the nuns teach for free. The school also takes in charity students, regardless of religion. I was one of them. My father was unemployed at the time, and I am the eldest of five children.
Attached to the school is a tutoring center. I don't know what they charge... just that the students are mostly public school or charity, with tired, working single moms, living in government housing. I do know that the fully-degreed layperson tutors are paid $12/hr. (Years after graduating college, I worked there for a while.) The head never turns anyone away regardless of ability to pay, and she is always looking for education grants to help keep the place running as a result. No doubt those education grants would also be viewed as 'income'.
Now my question to you is this: Is money that is donated to the school or the tutoring center being given to charity?
According to statistics and paperwork, it is not... because neither place is technically considered a charitable institution.
However, that doesn't mean that the money is going to buy expensive paintings and gilded sculptures.
*finally peers at the pic, having finally got it to work*
Ah... and that's an even *different* matter entirely!
None of what I just mentioned would have been part of that $3.5bill at all anyways. Why not?
$3.5bill spent to *feed* the poor.
This convent and its attached institutions are dedicated to *educating* the poor.
"My mistake". ^.^
In that case, you'd also want to total up the charitable funds spent housing the poor, clothing the poor, caring for the sick and injured poor... I betcha it takes more money to give a heart transplant to a homeless man than to feed him for twenty years, so I bet that last one will be highest.
Then you can start getting an idea of what Catholics spend on charity.
Yeah, until people started posting, I entertained the idea that this was a Turing test. So obviously, you and I aren't bots, but I think Nefaria might be. I'm almost positive Tyrell is, but I've had my suspicions for a long time.
rhjunior
Still, it galls me that the people who complain loudest about the morally-neutral kind of selfishness ("I wanna keep what's mine!") tend to be the kind of people who wallow in the immoral kind of selfishness ("What other people own should be mine to spend!")
Still, finding out about those numbers, I'm kind of hopping that this image's estimate of $3.5m is way shy of the actual. I mean, even if we just look at the donations aspect, that's less than one percent of the money they are given in good faith being used to help those less fortunate. In fact, I'm almost certain that has to be wrong, because the Church participates in a lot of charity and food programs, just in the US.
So to get an idea of how much money the Catholic Church actually brings in, I'd have to know how much they are profiting after the various services they provide for the money.
As far as spending money that the church makes on the "business" end of things(tuition, rent), I don't think that the Church can be faulted for spending that however they want, just like any other business.
The estimates I find for worldwide donations is close to $10bn, and as far as spending that goes: if the Catholics themselves aren't upset with how little goes to actual charities, then that should be the end of the matter. They're the ones who are donating it after all.
The local Catholic highschool costs less than any of the surrounding schools, public or private. Part of the reason that they can do this is because the nuns teach for free. The school also takes in charity students, regardless of religion. I was one of them. My father was unemployed at the time, and I am the eldest of five children.
Attached to the school is a tutoring center. I don't know what they charge... just that the students are mostly public school or charity, with tired, working single moms, living in government housing. I do know that the fully-degreed layperson tutors are paid $12/hr. (Years after graduating college, I worked there for a while.) The head never turns anyone away regardless of ability to pay, and she is always looking for education grants to help keep the place running as a result. No doubt those education grants would also be viewed as 'income'.
Now my question to you is this: Is money that is donated to the school or the tutoring center being given to charity?
According to statistics and paperwork, it is not... because neither place is technically considered a charitable institution.
However, that doesn't mean that the money is going to buy expensive paintings and gilded sculptures.
Ah... and that's an even *different* matter entirely!
None of what I just mentioned would have been part of that $3.5bill at all anyways. Why not?
$3.5bill spent to *feed* the poor.
This convent and its attached institutions are dedicated to *educating* the poor.
"My mistake". ^.^
In that case, you'd also want to total up the charitable funds spent housing the poor, clothing the poor, caring for the sick and injured poor... I betcha it takes more money to give a heart transplant to a homeless man than to feed him for twenty years, so I bet that last one will be highest.
Then you can start getting an idea of what Catholics spend on charity.
[select generic reply="237"]
I do not agree with a/some/all of the points raised by this political/religious/sociological comment. I maintain an alternate stance.
[endl;]