[Arthur McGowan]

Auction off the Vatican art treasures in London and New York and give the money to the poor around the world.

I am always amused by this proposal. Who would BUY the Vatican's "treasures"? Some billionaire, of course. Would this billionaire make the treasures available for viewing by the public, as the Vatican does?

And the moment Mr. Billionaire bought the stuff, wouldn't the cries start immediately: "Mr. Gotrocks should sell the treasures he bought from the Vatican, and give the money to the poor!"

And suppose Mr. Warbucks buys the Vatican treasures from Mr. Gotrocks? Well, then. "Mr. Warbucks should sell the treasures he bought from Mr. Gotrocks and give the money to the poor!"

Ad infinitum.

The only solution to the problem created by the existence of treasures like the "Pieta" and the Sistine Chapel is to smash them.

[Lou L]

I certainly hope the "solution" you proposed is never enacted, but you raise some excellent points. The "treasures" that exist in the Vatican are priceless to the point of having no market value. What price can be placed on church relics that hold meaning to believers? How does one scrape the frescoes from the walls and ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? What does one do with a sculpted altar from Bernini?

Most importantly, once a full-scale liquidation is complete, and 10 billion, or 100 billion is raised, and even distributed, what do you have left? More importantly, what was accomplished?