“. . . plea amidst the spendor of the Vatican City seemed a bit “off” to me”.
There’s a fresh idea. and it reeks of animosity to those who know a little from reading about the subject.
JPII gave away every personal gift he ever received and refused furnishings in his living quarters. Just a bed and a night stand. He stopped the practice of popes wearing poulent garments, realizing it would never please the whiners.
Much of the opulence of, for instance, the churches throughout Europe, were placed during their construction - hundreds of years ago - by artisans. Did the funding of that come by the greediness of the Church? It was done for the purpose of bringing people closer to God (who IS the one who provided the raw materiel, whether you believe it or not).
In Normandy, there is a church in Ste. Marie Iglese (a town named for the church of the Blessed Mother). this once vibrant place of worship is vacant of statues, a tabernacle, seating and parishoners. Is that what you are hoping for? It, like many, had lost some of its stained glass windows to WWII bombing. They had been replaced with new ones with the images of paratroopers arriving fom the sky. This work was done by some grateful French Guys back in the ‘40s.
Do you think the guys who did that work had a lot of money?
Local Catholics don’t frequent these places. If you visit the Chapel of the Miraculous medal in Paris (5 Rue Du Bac), where Ste, Vincent De Paul’s Sisters of Charity still live and work (in full habit), you find people from Third World countries praying in there. They don’t see that kind of dedication in architecture swhere they coem from. Heck, it’s hard to find here in the States. And they won’t unless they travel to Europe. Who would do that kind of ornamental work now?
Do you prefer the back of a rocket ship architecture of the 1970s prevalent now?
Catholic Churches ARE selling stuff, anyway.
In years to come, as has already begun in Europe and New York, the Church will sell these places to Muslims who won’t listen to people who say as you do that they should sell their stuff and give it away. And they won’t keep the images and they won’t sell it intact.
Here’s a fresh idea. You read something slightly critical and you automatically think “Catholic Hater.”
You also assume that I’ve read little about it. As my other post indicates I took the time to at least search what the church’s extimated value was.
Regardless of your wild leap, I don’t have animosity toward the Catholic Church. I admire its resilience throughout history. I am just perplexed at the animus displayed by some of its members when a discussion of the Church’s actions is at hand.
My comment of the Pope’s comment being a bit ‘off’ was very polite given his domain. And, please don’t try and tell me the Vatican isn’t sitting on some of the mosts priceless and revered artifacts from history. While selfless and laudible, giving away one’s personal holdings in the midst of being surrounded with such and wanting for nothing is just symbolic. Regardless, whether you agree or not, the Catholic church is in control of a vast fortune, however interpreted.