Catholicism

[DUMBRIT!]

This is in fact venomarse, i just could not be arsed to log in.

Can someone explain why Vatican City is the (or one of the) richest place(s) on the earth, per square mile, yet simultaneously is the home of a christian faith which preaches generosity and aims to look after the poor?

Seems a little hypocritical to me.

Cheers

Ven

[Edify]

I'm not Catholic, but I know this:
When you go to a Catholic church and put in offering, I think it all goes to the Vatican, and they send it out individually to chuches, making the Vatican extremely wealthy.

[Subjugation]

Jesus loves you. Now apologize before you're sent to hell.

[Colossos]

considering it's something like 2 or 3 square miles (i don't actually know, but it's not big) it wouldn't have to be much money to make it the richest

[Troll King]

0.44 sq km or about 0.17 square miles, to be exact.

[Liquid Blue]

fight the system and send all your money to me.

[Kolar]

The Catholic church has no interest in helping the poor and needy.

[Troll King]

I see LB's post was about a half hour too early.

[DUMBRIT!]

true

I accept that vatican city is tiny. But in my view the home of a religion that preaches such virtues as generosity, compassion and concern for the poor should not have such incredible quantities of gold and valuable pieces of art. The vatican needs round the clock protection not from demons but from thieves wishing to take such things away.

It is crazy. Sell it all off and give it to the poor. Surely that would be a better way to encourage such behaviour in those who follow your faith? I wonder why Catholics are so blind to this.

Ven

[Troll King]

Show us some numbers first, because all we have to discuss without them is inference. There's also the issue of scale, as the 0.17 square miles would create, as well as the small population, but that scale also changes if you're looking at the Roman Catholic church in its entirety. Besides the issues of assets, you have to also look at how much money is spent on expenses including charitable works to get a bigger sense of the picture.

Some of the most valuable items contained in the Vatican are priceless artifacts that are worth more to the Vatican than any monetary value they would receive on the open market, such as original manuscripts. Others are fixtures, such as frescoes painted on various walls or Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel which, I would assume, would be difficult to pawn yet might be the most valuable piece of art in the Vatican.

It's very easy to sit back and say they should just sell everything and spend it all on charities, but you have to look at things specifically.

[Liquid Blue]

I see LB's post was about a half hour too early.

Is this a good or bad thing

[Troll King]

Depends on whether you agree with Kolar's statement.

[Colossos]

also, the Vatican is an administrative body, and it would take a lot of money to organise the Catholic Church and its subsidiaries

plus it probably costs money to try and throw lawsuits at Dan Brown

[Subjugation]

plus it probably costs money to try and defend against lawsuits for molesty priests

fixed.

[Colossos]

ahahahahahahahahaha