Is clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church used to preserve the Vatican's wealth?

With the recent news from the Vatican that there is now a more streamlined way for disillusioned Anglicans to join the Catholic Church, a discussion of clerical celibacy has once again arrisen. This is a legitimate discussion, but there are some old canards that have reared their heads. The two main ones are that priests should be allowed to marry because priestly celibacy was only implemented by the Vatican to protect the Church's assets and also that priestly celibacy would reduce incidences of child sexual assault. Both of these are false assertions and I will explain why.

There is no evidence that the Church implemented celibacy to keep its grip on Church assets. Celibacy is advocated by Christ and St. Paul. Jesus says any man who becomes a eunuch for the kingdom of God is very blessed (spiritual eunuch). St. Paul recommends celibacy for those who can do it without sinning. Obviously St. Paul and Jesus were not advocating celibacy to keep their grips on the treasury of the apostles.

Celibacy was widely practiced by Christians well before it became mandatory for priests. Desert fathers and monks were always celibate and did not marry. It seems all of the apostles were celibate, especially after they became disciples of Jesus. Of course, there is mention of Peter's mother in law, but there is no mention of his wife, and we do not necessarily have evidence that Peter continued with marital relations after becoming an apostle. In any event, it does not matter in this case.

Celibacy was made mandatory by the Church in later centuries because it was seen as beneficial in many ways. First of all, it was following the example and teaching of Christ. Secondly, a man would not be torn between the will of God and the will of his family. The Bible speaks of the virgin who is concerned only with God, but contrasts this with the man who is concerned for his family. Celibacy allowed missionaries to travel to far off lands and convert large numbers of people. It allows priests to have a life of contemplation and holiness. They can be available at any time for an emergency, such as giving last rites. Celibacy is a way for a man (or woman) to give himself fully to the service of God.

What about money and inheritance? I would invite you to think logically about this. From a financial point of view, priests do not generate revenue, they are a liability. The more priests the Church has, the more it has to pay to give them a place to live, to provide food, transportation, travel costs, and other living expenses. Not only that, the Church pays for them to attend seminary in the first place, which also includes lodging. The Church is not preventing priests from passing on their inheritance, rather, priests would have no inheritance, and without the financial support of the church, would be paupers. The claim that the Church enforces celibacy in order to maintain its hold on finance simply flies in the face of reason.

Another illogical thought which has been floated by some Church skeptics is the idea that allowing priests to marry would reduce or eliminate priestly sexual abuse. Anything which can eliminate this perversion is very welcome, but this suggestion may not be sensible. Again, let's look at the information. The vast majority of cases of priestly sexual abuse involved POST-pubescent boys by male priests. This is clearly a homosexual issue, otherwise the abuse would have been of girls or young women. If these priests have homosexual tendencies, allowing them to marry would do little. They have a desire for sexual relations with male children, so allowing them to marry women would not satisfy this desire. Over the past couple of decades, there have been few incidences of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. With new guidelines, the incidences can be expected to decrease even further. There is also a bias in the public and in the media. Teachers sexually abuse children at a rate 4 times higher than priests, but the stereotype of pedophile teacher has not emerged. It's also important to note that around 98% of the time where a teacher was caught in this illicit activity, they were allowed to continue teaching or transferred to a new school. Many accuse the Catholic Church of acting inappropriately, but these allegations do not seem to come out for teachers. It seems this practice was not specifically endorsed by the church, but rather by psychologists who felt these priests and teachers were rehabilitated.

As you can see, mandating clerical celibacy is not a matter of maintaining wealth for the Vatican, nor would it reduce clerical sex abuse claims. Rather, it would have negative effects on the Church.

Pope makes new Anglican rite

Great news has just emerged from the Vatican. The pope will be creating a new Anglican rite for Anglicans who want to become Catholic. This will ease the transistion of tens of thousands of Anglicans who want to come home to Rome. There's a few things to keep in mind. These people must become Catholic and will be subject to the Pope like all Catholics are now. There will be no difference. The only difference is that they will have a liturgy that they are more or less used to. Catholics could also attend these Anglican-rite Catholic Churches.

The main reasons why Anglicans are becoming interested in the Catholic Church is that there have been many unfortunate changes in the Anglican church, including female ordination, acceptance of homosexual lifestyles and bishops and blessing of homosexual unions. The liberalization of the Anglican church started in 1930 when they became the first Christian church to accept contraception. It sort of went downhill from there. At this point, there is a real schism in the Anglican communion between conservative and liberal factions.

That's not to say these are the only reason former Anglicans are now Catholic. A look theologically will show the Anglican church lost holy orders several centuries ago, and therefore their sacraments are not valid. Some are surely joining because they recognize the Catholic Church as the one founded by Jesus Christ which has maintained the four marks of the church - one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

This is great news. Let's look forward to welcoming our Anglican brothers and sisters into full communion with the Church.

I can't wait to watch Molokai: The Story of Father Damien 1999

There was an awesome movie made about Fr. Damien who was recently canonized by the Pope. Check out the preview, it looks awesome!

Love exists and so does God

I just had a random thought. Many atheists mock theists, Christians specifically, because they believe in something invisible, i.e. God. They say we believe in an invisible man in the sky. They say there is no scientific proof that God exists. They refuse to accept how God has transformed our lives or go by feelings because these cannot be measured by science. But there is something else that cannot be measured by science and is also invisible. That is Love.

Love is invisible, is expressed through feelings and life changes, and cannot be detected or measured with scientific instruments. Many people have gone to their deaths for love, so it can be very powerful. But no one ever says, If you exist LOVE, strike me down! All atheists, or nearly all, would believe in love. But why? If you can believe in love, you can believe in God.

It's interesting also to note that Christians say God is Love. The first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI was titled Deus Caritas Est, which translates into God is Love. Let's pray that our friends who do not yet belief in God, will see this and believe.

Where's the hot air balloon boy?

A young child, aged 6, was sent up into a hot air balloon owned by him and his family. Authorities were chasing the balloon, which has now landed about 4 minutes ago, but the boy doesn't seem to be anywhere to be found. I don't know where he is. I'm following this story and this seems very tragic. Where is the young boy?

Obama DOES NOT deserve a Nobel Prize

Barack Hussein Obama does not deserve a Nobel Peace Prize. Not in a million years, unless he has an St. Augustine-like turnaround. Obama has done absolutely nothing for peace. After reading further information on this, it seems the committee which awarded Obama the peace prize were doing it more to get back at Bush than to actually say anything about Obama. This committee hated Bush with a passion.

There are many reasons why Obama should not receive the Nobel Peace Prize. These include the following (and this is certainly not an exhaustive list):

- he voted against a bill that said if a baby was being aborted in a late term and was born alive, medical care should be given to this baby. Obama voted 3 times to not give such a baby any care, even though he was virtually alone in this.

- Obama wanted to pass a bill which eradicated all abortion laws in the whole country, including every state, such as parental notification, counseling, etc. - he has been recorded as saying
previously during a national prayer breakfast that there is no God that condones the killing of a child, so why the double-talk?

- he bowed down to the leader of Saudi Arabia

- he said the US is not a Christian country (even though 80% of the population is). This was totally unnecessary.

- he covered up Jesus's name when he was speaking at Notre Dame university. It was above him during the speech, and he had a black cloth put over the words IHS (which is a Greek symbol for Christ)

- he says during his campaigning that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but when he's elected he devotes an entire month to LGBTand basically says how everyone oppresses gay people

- he has quadrupled the national deficit, has socialized banks and automobile companies

- he made fun of the Special Olympics

- he said the US has 57 states

- he seems unable to pick an ambassador to the Vatican, because he can't find one person who is pro-life in his cabinet

That's just a brief list. There are many more things.

But the big question is, what HAS he done exactly? Nothing.

Atheistic source of the Invention of Lying not hard to find

I did a little research to find out why The Invention of Lying contained such a blatant atheistic perspective. The reason became quite apparent when looking into the beliefs of those involved with the movie.

First, the main character is played by Ricky Gervais. Gervais is an atheist and belongs to atheist organizations. Not surprisingly, he is also an animal rights activist (many atheists take on this cause).

Secondly, a major role is played by Louis CK, infamous for his vitriolic and extremely offensive portrayals of the Catholic Church and religion in general. He made a video for youtube which is downright nauseating, where he claims the Catholic Church was set up for one goal - to rape boys.

I could not find specific information regarding the religion of others involved with the film, besides the religion into which they were born. As usual with other anti-religious movie, this one is doing poorly. It premiered in 4th place and has only made around $7 million in the box office so far. I'm not sure how big the budget was for this movie, so I can't say if they will lose money.

Let's hope that at least if moral reasons do not stop theatres from releasing anti-religion films, financial reasons will.

The Invention of Lying - a movie for angry atheists

Last night, my girlfriend and I went to see The Invention of Lying, starring Ricky Gervais of the sitcom The Office in Britain, and Jennifer Garner, among others with smaller roles, such as Philip Seymour Hoffman. The movie started off with promise, looking like it would be a fun and entertaining. However, it wasn't long before an atheistic theme became obvious.

I will not give any major spoilers, but I will give you my thoughts on this movie. Very quickly into the movie, we realize the premise: people are in a world where they are unable to lie. In fact, people are brutally honest about everything and do not keep secrets. When Ricky Gervais goes to see Jennifer Garner for a date, she clearly tells him he is fat, not very attractive, and because of these things combined with his financial situation, she will probably not date him again. She also mentions certain vulgar things she will be doing.

Ricky's life seems rather dull and uninspiring. He is doing poorly at his job, and of course, everyone lets him know. He ends up getting fired and doesn't have enough money to pay for rent. He goes to the bank to get everything he can. The teller says the system is down, and asks how much he has in his account. Since lying doesn't exist, everyone believes everyone else no matter what. Ricky makes history when he asks for $800 instead of the $300 he actually has. When the system comes back up, it shows he only has $300, but since lying is not possible and the concept doesn't even exist, the teller apologizes and gives him the $800 he asked for, attributing the discrepancy to a computer glitch. This is the beginning of his lying.

Now that Ricky's character has discovered this ability, he abuses it. He lies about many things to get what he wants, such an enormous mansion, which probably took no more than telling the vendor that he already paid for the house. The movie was going along fine, until Ricky's mother is dying in hospital. This is where the atheistic themes come in. His mother is terrified with death. Ricky, out of desperation and to put her mind at ease, tells her that when she dies, she will not just go into nothingness, but will instead be sent to a place where she is reunited with dead family members, where everyone is happy and gets a mansion, where all our desires are fulfilled. His mother dies in peace.

News spreads about this place that Ricky spoke about with his mother and soon hundreds of people had gathered around his house to find out more. Out of desperation, seeing the crowd would not leave, Ricky took a couple of pizza boxes and wrote out 10 things about God. He brought out the boxes like Moses with the tablets containing the 10 commandments. This was an obvious poke at monotheism and religion in general. He then proceeded to talk about God and Heaven. They did not say God though, instead they mockingly said "the invisible man in the sky". Someone asked if the "invisible man" lived in the clouds, and Ricky said no, he's above the clouds, then someone asked if he's in space, and Ricky said, no not that high. Then he said the place you go when you die is the best place imaginable and you get the best mansion.

Then Ricky went on to answer questions. The questions were very childish and the answers were all made up. There was the obvious implication that someone just invented heaven and God and everyone just wanted to believe him. Then atheistic arguments against the existence of God came out. Some people asked if the invisible man in the sky caused their relative to get sick, or if he made a natural disaster happen. Ricky responded in the affirmative. Then everyone got really angry at this invisible man in the sky. But Ricky calmed them down by saying this invisible man also does all the good stuff too, and like dumb animals, the crowd was appeased.

The implication of the movie was that everyone there was super gullible and didn't ask any real questions and just believed whatever they heard. It was implied that Christians are like that as well. Only Ricky seemed to have any ability to think on his own and not appear to have an IQ below 50, and he was the only one who didn't believe in the invisible man in the sky.

There were other elements of mockery. For example, the church had a sign saying something like it was a quiet place to go to imagine the invisible man in the sky. The "pastor" wore what looked like a cross, but was actually a silouette of Ricky holding his arms out with the tablets in them. The pastor started the marriage ceremony and gave a very naturalistic view of marriage saying things like do you want to be with this person for as long as you feel like it, do you think your genetics match, etc.

If this movie wasn't atheistic enough, near the end, Ricky goes to visit the grave of his mother. He laments the fact that he created this big lie and that all these gullible people believed him. He then says she's not in heaven, she's in the ground. Later, he tells his friend that he made up all this stuff about the invisible man in the sky and that in fact there is no man in the sky.

The basic premise of this whole movie is that those who believe in God are doing so for irrational and emotional reasons, based around their fear of death and the afterlife. They are presented as stupid, unintelligent, and extremely gullible. Atheists are presented as being intelligent and not bound to a false hope that's based on nothing but desire. Ricky is seen as a man whose eyes were opened, who was freed from the oppression of a lie, who "knows the truth". He's not a sheep who is ready to follow anywhere he's told to go. He uses his own brain, makes his own decisions.

Of course, the truth is much different. The fact is atheists are afraid of judgment, or Hell, and they do not want there to be an afterlife because that would mean they must adhere to a moral code. Without judgment, we can live any way we choose, treat others in any fashion, and feel no regret for anything. There are no schools or hospitals or any great monument erected to an atheist. Without true believers, the world would be a much more desolate place. It is kind of ironic that atheists are so vitriolic against theists, even though without theists, the world would be much more bleak.

I give this movie 1 out of 5 stars. I would have given it 0, but there was a funny scene where the main character said that in heaven, you could have any flavour of ice cream that you could imagine. A man in the crowd became very upset, because he said he imagined a flavour of vanilla and skunk! Now that I said the only funny part, there's no reason for you to see this movie.

Pope will visit the United Kingdom next year, 2010

Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting the United Kingdom next year, marking the first time in over 25 years a pontiff will make this trip. This comes after an invitation by Gordon Brown, the prime minister of England, and is being looked forward to by the Catholic bishops of the country, as well as the Anglican's top man, the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

I read this article on the BBC, and the response seems rather upbeat and positive. Usually when British mainstream media, including the BBC, report on issues related to the Catholic Church it's 10% positive and 90% negative. Even if the article is on a good topic, they find some way to screw it up. For example, they may write an article that goes along the lines of "Catholic Church donates millions to orphanages, so why are they not paying enough for sex abuse cases?" or "Pope condemns all violence and leads vigil for victims of the Holocaust, BUT there are hundreds of critics who say the Vatican didn't do enough to defeat Hitler". The only place you hear this is with the Catholic Church and/or the Vatican. Can you imagine this article: "Brad Pitt donates to UN, but many say he is a poor moral voice because he committed adultery with his first wife!" or how about "The German Chancellor says violence is not the answer and we must renew our commitment to peace. However, many critics say this is too little, too late, given Germany's role in the Holocaust." It's not acceptable in those cases, so it shouldn't be with the Catholic Church.

In this particular article about the pope's visit to England, the response was very good from the user comments. One user said he would schedule his vacation around the pope's visit. Others praised this action. The article did however make clear that there would be protests surrounding his visit by certain groups. Of course, you'll get your typical protest groups at such events. I do not think it's bad for the media to report on opposition to things, but I think everything should be put into perspective. The same standards should apply in all cases. If opposition is shown, it should be relevant and timely. For example, to protest something from this pope because Pope Pius XII alledgely didn't "do enough" during the Holocaust is ridiculous.

To go back to the topic, I think it's really wonderful that the Pope will be visiting the UK next year. I think this is a very good time for this visit given the current affairs of the Anglican church. Many in that church are disillusioned by moral liberalization taking place. The Anglican church has historically been seen as one of the closest relatives of the Catholic Church, save perhaps the Orthodox, in terms of liturgy and beliefs. That started to change in 1930 when the Anglican church became the first to advocate the possibility for couples to use contraception. Then around fifteen years ago, the Anglican church started to ordain women. This caused a major rift between Catholic - Anglican relations. Then a few years ago, Anglicans accepted an openly gay bishop. And most recently, the Anglican church has said it will perform marriage for gay couples. Beyond a miracle, this rift has become an insurmoutable chasm. The Church sees this as a new opportunity for evangelization. Many Anglicans are seeking true Christian teaching, and the Catholic Church is in a great position to receive many members. Indeed, Anglicans are already converting to Catholicism at a great rate.

With the Pope's visit to England, there will be a great opportunity for evangelization. This may be the first time many Britons have heard the pope unfiltered. Usually they hear about the pope from the mainstream media, but hearing his words directly may have a great effect. I read an article recently about 10 Agnlican nuns coming over to the Church. Also, another story says there are around 40,000 Anglicans who may be welcomed into the Church en masse soon. The Catholic Church already has an Anglican-style liturgy designed for those who are familiar with Anglican services. The only difference is that it is done according to liturgical rules and by a validly ordained priest.

We should all be very grateful for Gordon Brown's invitation. Perhaps he is listening to the pope's message more and more like Tony Blair has (he is now a Catholic convert). My suggestion for the church in the UK is to have lots of priests on hand who can lead people through the conversion process to Christ's Holy Catholic Church.

Elderly Pro-life supporter assaulted

In another act of violence toward a pro-life demonstrator, an elderly man named Johnny Wallace was slightly injured by two women who attacked him for his pro-life stance. He was sitting down displaying two signs, both non-graphic. They read the following:

1) Abortion kills more black Americans in four days than the Klan killed in 150 years
2) Life begins at conception and ends at Planned Parenthood.

I guess to prove that abortion is not violent, these women committed acts of violence against a 69 year-old. This comes on the heals of the murder of a pro-life activist Jim Pouillon, who was peacefully protesting. He was killed in a driveby shooting in Michigan.

Murder and violence are unacceptable. Pro-life people are often falsely portrayed as violent and murderous, but we can clearly see this kind of behavior also comes from the pro-"choice" side. It's not possible that the media makes it look like only pro-life people are violent though is it.

Let's pray for an end to all violence against people, including against the youngest and most vulnerable of our society - pre-born children.

Some thoughts on Dan Brown interview on ABC's Good Morning America

Hey guys, Phil here. I was just watching a video there of Dan Brown talking about his book the Da Vinci Code, and he seems to waffle a lot depending on the audience that he's speaking to. He's talking here to Good Morning America, and he seems to take this attitude like, "Oh yeh, well most the stuff I wrote in the book is real and it's got a really long history, and a lot of scientists have been talking about it, and researchers and historians. Then the interviewer says, "If you wrote this book as a non-fiction, because you wrote it as a fiction, if you wrote it as a non-fiction, how would it be different, and Dan Brown says it probably wouldn't be different at all. But in other interviews, he'll go on to say, this stuff is fictional, you don't need to believe it, but he only says that when he's challenged. So if someone is challenging him, saying it's all concocted, it's all lies, then dan brown says, well you know it's only fictional, but then when Charlie Gibson speaks to him on Good Morning America, he says oh yeh this is mostly real, because Charlie Gibson is not going to come back with any retorts, and Dan Brown is so false that he goes on about how these theories have been around for 2000 years. 2000 years?? The theory that Mary Magdalene married Jesus and had a child, a lineage that still exists, and that it's covered up, and that's been going around for 2000 years? I'm sorry Dan Brown, that has not been going around for 2000 years, more like only 100 years. And there are ulterior motives behind the theory. There's no evidence coming from early centuries about this. No Church Fathers spoke about this, nobody in those centuries, not even enemies spoke about it. There's no mention of it in the Bible. If it's true, why is it not reporter in the Gospels? If he got married, it would not be abnormal. So it makes no sense that it would be covered up. People just disagree with the Catholic Church and some people eat up these books because these people say I agree with abortion, I agree with gay marriage, and contraception, but I'm Catholic, and as a Catholic, I must disagree with these things. So then they read these books and think (and want) them to undermine the Church and her moral authority and all of a sudden they think they can accept all of these things. Don't believe Dan Brown, believe the Catholic Church. Have a wonderful day and God Bless!

LOL! Pope vs. Dan Brown - GetReligion

This is a good article showing the nonsense spouted by the main stream media. There seems to be this perception that the Vatican is somehow mainly concerned with the US and all the details of life there. The Vatican is truly international and probably pays as much attention to American Catholics as they deserve. Believe it or not, the Vatican doesn't care about Dan Brown's books, or what George Carlin said about the Church, or any of these other little details. The media would love to believe that the Vatican cares what Americans, mostly non-religious ones, think about women ordination, or gay marriage. The reality is the Church is not a democracy and it certainly doesn't listen to liberal American voices from the media. Saying the pope wrote Jesus of Nazareth in response to Dan Brown's books is like saying the Encyclopedia Britannica was written in response to a fifth grader's essay about a super hero. Dan Brown is a bad author whose books do not even resemble reality, a fact which is attested by even atheists. No serious scholar believes anything he writes. The Pope on the other hand is an acclaimed theologian, among the best in the world, plus he is the head of the universal church on Earth, with over 1 billion members. Compared to the pope, Dan Brown is child's play.

LOL! Pope vs. Dan Brown - GetReligion

Picture from our Flat Rock Pilgrimage

I just received a picture from our Flat Rock Pilgrimage, which brought up to the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto, which was visited by Pope John Paul II back just over 25 years ago. Check it out.

I am carrying the flag in the back of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. You can get a better view by clicking on the picture to enlarge.

You can see me in this photo, which appeared on the 2nd page of our local paper. I am wearing a reflective vest. I was directing traffic.

Is Catholic-Orthodox Unity in Sight?: NCRegister

This is truly fantastic news! According to Catholic Archbishop of Moscow, Paolo Pezzi, there is great hope for a reunion between the Catholic and Orthodox churches. He says this may occur as soon as a few months from now. This is something everyone should pray fervently for, since we would bring together Christianity like it hasn't been in a thousand years. One of the main areas to resolve is the Pope's primacy. But the Archbishop does not believe this is insurmountable. If the Orthodox churches joined with the Catholic Church, around 70 or 75% of Christians would be united together.

I'm assuming it would work in a way similar to how Eastern Churches are now fully in union with Rome. They retain their liturgy and many of their practices. They are united completely however on the essentials. They say relations haven't been better in a thousand years, and it's been said that for the first millenium, the Churches were united, then the second they were divided, but the third could mark a new beginning! I think we need this more than ever in today's world. We need a unified voice against the forces of evil and secularism. Let us pray for this reunion!

For more on this story, go here:

Daily News: Is Catholic-Orthodox Unity in Sight?: NCRegister

Pope organises Vatican art summit - BBC gets it wrong

The BBC is reporting that the Vatican is bringing together a summit of 500 artists to discuss art. Of course, this could be a really good story, but the BBC has to falsify information to make it more appealing. I guess they want to attract more anti-Catholics to their website? Anyway, my main grievance is that they are claiming the Vatican is having this summit in order to "mend" relations with the modern art community. The BBC then goes on to make the absurd statement that relations were damaged when an artist designed a crucified frog. Of course, the focus goes on what the Vatican allegedly did wrong, not the artist. That's like saying the Jewish community is sponsoring an art summit, but it's probably because relations were strained when a swastika was spray-painted on the Western Wall, and this is the Jewish Community's way of saying sorry for getting upset. Give me a break.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Pope organises Vatican art summit

I almost made it, but not quite!

I almost made it on to Who Wants to be an Apologist. As time started to dwindle, I went from calling over and over on just my cell phone to using both my cell phone and home phone to continuously call. At the very tail end, it started to ring (instead of a busy signal), and I heard the program, then the lady eventually took my name, but it was too late. I probably would have been next, but the time ran out. However I'm happy, because I will receive a prize anyway. The lady said she will send me something anyway. I don't know what it is, but I'm looking forward to it!

Who Wants to be an Apologist

Starting about 7 minutes ago, a new episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire is airing on Catholic Answers Live. I've been on a few times, and I will attempt to call in again tonight. I'm going for the $100 gift certificate. The host, Patrick Coffin, mentioned strange place names in Newfoundland, and he's from Nova Scotia. Always great to hear Newfoundland place names on American Catholic radio.

Wish me luck!

Responses to Rebuttal about Catholic Church's wealth

Jeremy responded to my posting, on an article concerning the Church telling a priest he was practicing financial mismanagement. My words are in bold, and my current responses are in italic and bold:

“If you believe the Church is being bad by not selling all the cathedrals (places of worship) and giving the money to the poor, then you should also be mad at art galleries.”
1. The proportion of the Church’s land holdings that are the cathedrals and church buildings is surprisingly tiny. They own HUGE chunks of land that you wouldn’t realise are theirs.
2. Art galleries don’t claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

1. As for the Church owning huge chunks of land, that is perhaps true, but I'm not sure what argument you're making with that. If they own land, it's normally for schools or hospitals.

2. I believe the Church is following the teachings of Jesus Christ. The Church gives huge amount of money to the poor, more than any other organization. They have founded thousands of hospitals, schools, orphanages, adoption agencies, social service sectors, and hundreds of other activities. Also, if you believe we should help the poor, then you must believe it is everyone's obligation, not that of a select few only. How can you, as an outsider, demand that an institution to be more generous? And if you can do that as an outsider, how come you can't say the same for museums and art galleries? Or does your system of morality say that religious insitutions should give money but no one else is obliged to?


“Half of all AIDS and HIV patients in Africa receive direct care from the Catholic Church.”
There’d be a lot fewer of them of the Vatican would stop objecting to condom availability.

Actually that is false. The Vatican wants nothing more than to rid people of disease and famine. If that wasn't the case, then most of the help for HIV and AIDS victims would not come from the Catholic Church. If the Catholic Church really wanted people to suffer and die from AIDS, then it wouldn't build hospitals and send doctors and give money for medication.

The head of Harvard's AIDS prevention program, Dr. Edward C. Green, affirms what the Pope says about AIDS and how condoms are not the solution. He is one of the most prominent people in the world in the fight against AIDS.

Condoms are not the solution. Condoms have been heavily available in Africa for decades, but there is no decline from them. Some countries have seen a decrease in AIDS, but it's rare. One is Uganda, who used a program called ABC, in which they promote abstinence first, then Be faithful, and if necessary use condoms. They experienced success because people did not believe the lie that condoms are the solution to AIDS and HIV in Africa or anywhere.

“The late Pope John Paul II… lived a very simple life, like all the priests and bishops I’ve ever met.”
OH yes, very simple. Have you been to the Vatican?

Yes, I've been to the Vatican, I walked through, marveled at the amazing architecture, was awe-inspired by the beautiful works of art, and found peace and solitude. I felt God's presence. I was accompanied by thousands of pilgrims who had come as well. Millions of people pass through the Vatican every year. It's open to all people of the Earth, and it's a beautiful treasure. It really makes the world a better place. It is for all of humanity. How many people have been through Bill Gates' house? What about the Queen's residence? Very few. The Vatican is not Pope Benedict's private dwelling place. The Pope actually lives in an apartment near St. Peter's. It is not a vast and expansive palace. Priests and bishops often live in the hardest and most miserable conditions, and go wherever they are sent. They are totally obedient, and do not ask questions.

“The Catholic Church is the Church founded by Christ."
According to the Roman Catholics and no-one else…

Obviously. If anyone else claimed that, they would become Catholic.


“I am not working with lepers in India, like Mother Teresa did. I’m not risking my life in Columbia like many priests and bishops do every day."
I wasn’t having a go at the priests and bishops who tend to the poor. I was having a go at the ones who don’t.
And as for Mother Teresa – well, you should read what Christopher Hitchens has to say about her.

All priests and bishops take a vow of obedience and would go wherever they are told. Fr. Maximilian Kolbe sacrfied his life in a concentration camp to save another man's life who had a family. Our current Pope, Benedict XVI, risked his life to evade the Nazis. Had he been caught and convicted of treason, he could have been killed. But he risked his life for good.

Reading what Christopher Hitchens says about Mother Teresa is like reading what Hitler has to say about the Jews.


“Before you criticize the Catholic Church for not doing enough, ask what you have done.”
I don’t have the vast resources they do, do I? And people don’t bequeathe me money to look after the poor? Nor do governments give me incredible tax breaks for doing so.
But I do what I can. Clearly that can’t be said for the institution we are discussing.

The Catholic Church does everything it can to bring people to Christ, and to help the poor as part of her mission. Many saints were inspired to help the poor after spending time in a beautiful cathedral or basilica. These are public places of worship that benefit everyone. The world is a better place with them.

An example is the founder of Domino's Pizza. After being in Rome, and witnessing the beautiful architecture in praise of God from people's hearts, he decided to dedicate himself to the Church's mission and he gave tens of millions of dollars.

The Church is here for the benefit of everyone on Earth. It is the most generous institution in the world. Compared to other charities, the Catholic Church gives a far greater percentage toward actual giving, and very little for administration. Jesus loves you and wants you to join his Church. Have a wonderful day.