The real estate portfolio you mention confuses me. Yes, there are Churches, Hosptials, Orphanages, Soup Kitchens, Schools, etc. all over the world which belong, in some way, to the Church. Should the Church not offer these services?
And this, Shall we take a peek inside PB16’s massive bejeweled walk-in closet? is just unnecessary. Have you been inside the Papal apartments?
Well, there are books written on “The Vatican Billions” by investigative journalists that will provide more detail. But this is just one “official” doc from 2001 that state Vatican income to be a staggering $466 Billion, with 17.720 Billion profit! Now that just the *income* - therefore it’s net worth is substantially more. (mind you, these are 2001 #’s) I would just love to see a list of “expenses” but we never will. Mind you, I believe the RCC does alot to help the poor, etc, however it she remains enormously weathly. It owns much of the world’s gold reserves, housed in England & elsewhere. Notice the reference to it’s market investments. Should Christ’s Church be gambling in stock & bond markets, or should it be totally dependant on tithes & offerings as taught in the New Testament Church?
http://www.zenit.org/article-1900?l=english