As to post 35:
Religious order priests take a vow of poverty but not simple archdiocesan priests. They can own property. Of course, this pope is a Jesuit priest. You ask how the pope can raffle off what is not his, but of course as leader of the universal church, he can raffle off gifts to the Church given to him as pope.
He lives in two rooms in the Vatican hotel, which I would hardly call “opulence”. In not living in the papal apartments, you will let him have an extra room to deal with his duties as Pope, won’t you?
In Argentina, the Pope as Archbishop didn’t live in the Archbishop’s residence but lived in a simple apartment. Even before Pope, he has a history of selling vehicles provided for him, buying much older ones, and giving the monetary difference as a gift to the poor. Often he wouldn’t even use the older vehicle but would ride the bus instead. He would usually make his own meals in his apartment which consisted of rice and the like.
I’m more scandalized by the lifestyles of the prosperity preachers than by the lifestyle of this Pope.
The Vatican isn't a hovel based on the last pictures I've seen of it.
Catholics bring that tired old canard to the table every time someone mentions where he lives. Whether he owns anything or not, whether the property is his or not, no matter how many rooms he *lives in*, he lives in and surrounded by, opulence.
Pictures of the Vatican show it and not amount of denial by Catholics can change what the pictures show.