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The opulence of the Vatican was purchased in blood. The opulence of today's megachurches was purchased with love offerings.

"Opulence"? You mean the decorations on the tabernacles and candlestick holders? That reminds me of the whine of the good lady in the Gospels when she saw another anointing the feet of Jesus with spices and perfumes. What a waste!!

This "opulence" is not personal, lest we gloss over this important distinction. There were no condos or boats in the last will and testament of Pope John Paul II and his successor will likewise depart this mortal coil with no material legacy, either.

It's not clear that the plastic-haired shouters who appear on our TVs are similarly living the Gospel virtues of temperance and modesty.

The point is that we all have skeletons in our closets. I think many (if not most) of these plastic haired TV preachers are rank heretics. But those who associate them with rank and file protestantism are guilty of painting protestantism with a wide brush that can equally be used against Catholicism.

If a Church body is going to be known by those who abuse their offices, then the Catholic Church is as guilty as any of them. I warned AlaninSA not to go down that road. He chose to. I chose to respond. We're down that road now. The scenery is not all that pleasant, is it?