If the Vatican wants to be a political organization, then they need to be taxed like one.
The Vatican isn’t a political organization. It is a sovereign state. The pope is the equivalent of its king, elected by representatives called cardinals.
Election of the pope (and cardinals) is, in itself, a political process, and they tax the dickens out of their adherants, but our nation can’t tax another sovereign state or its tentacles. We don’t tax mosques, even though they bow to Mecca.
What we’re watching this week is akin to the Queen of England making an extended visit, except that rather than being a political ally, her nation were a religious one. And she preaches to us.
It’s amazing to listen to Francis pontificate (pun intended) on science, given the Catholic Church’s stellar record on that subject (sarcasm intended).
Nice man. He needs to stick to theology.