Churches

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031064

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this is not an attack on the Catholic Chruch. I must ask however, why do we have such large chruches and 40 billion in assets when we could donate it to the poor and others in need.
 
In 1 Kings 6,7,8; the Lord commands us to build elaborate places of worship. Some think that this is controversial and the money should be given to the poor, even though no organization does more for the poor of the world that the Catholic Church. We create our churches with beauty because Christ our King lives in the churches in the blessed Eucharist. Negative comments concerning the riches of the Church are like the disciples complaining about the woman anointing Jesus’ head with costly oil (Matt. 26:8-9; Mark 14:4-5; John 12:5). Jesus desires that we honor Him with our best gifts, not for Him, but for us, so that we realize He is God and we are His creatures. – from “The Biblical Basis for the Catholic Faith” by John Salza.
 
031064 said:
this is not an attack on the Catholic Chruch. I must ask however, why do we have such large chruches and 40 billion in assets when we could donate it to the poor and others in need.
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To worship and honor God, for all things belong to Him.
 
031064 said:
this is not an attack on the Catholic Chruch. I must ask however, why do we have such large chruches and 40 billion in assets when we could donate it to the poor and others in need.
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Because we COULDN’T donate a lot of it. Many of the buildings and artworks are part of society’s cultural heritage, not just private property. They must be preserved as such - which in itself costs money. Anyone who bought, for example, St Peters, would be obliged to maintain it as is - it’s a critical part of the cultural heritage of Italy. No-one would want the job really, apart from maybe the Italian Government. Given how much it would cost to maintain, you think they’d pay much for the privilege?

Don’t you think St Peters raises more revenue by being retained by the Church which charges tourists to see it? Which is spent on charity, you can be sure - the Catholic Church is far and away the organisation that spends the most on charitable works - probably outstrips all other charity organisations put together!

You think the Italian Government or anyone else would do as much for the poor with what they earned from it?
 
031064 said:
this is not an attack on the Catholic Chruch. I must ask however, why do we have such large chruches and 40 billion in assets when we could donate it to the poor and others in need.
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we have churches for the same reason every other denomination does, to gather to worship God in the ways he commanded. The assets of the Church do not belong to the Vatican, except for those in that tiny area of land itself, they belong to the individual dioceses, in a form of ownership that varies with the civil law of the various countries. It is in the form mostly of real estate, namely, churches, schools, hospitals, colleges, charitable institutions, monasteries, retreat centers, orphanages etc. There is a recent thread here, and another answer in AAA recently, that quoted an estimate if all the assets of the Church were liquidated and distributed to the poor (which among other things would put the art treasures of the Vatican in the hands of private collectors, instead of in museums open to the public) it would give every poor person food for one day. The next you would still have poor people, but the Church, one of the largest charitable concerns in the world, would have no institutions to perform those charitable and educational works, and would have laid off a lot of people who used to do those charitable works.
 
i was use to big catholic churches ,but now that i live in texas the catholic churches are so small as compare with all those mega churches.and i know that the donations that are given in the catholic church here are use to help people like katrina’s etc.🙂 god bless:)
 
The Catholic Churches are adorned to honor Our Lord Jesus Christ. We truly love Him and all the art and design in the world aren’t nearly enough to thank Him for the gift of dying for our sins.
Would you prefer empty, bare rooms like the other denominations?

These Churches are also spiritual food for the flock. The images remind us that this is Gods Home and we are to show reverence in such an awesome place.

No other religion EVER has given and still gives to all those in need. I live in a medium size town and the relief efforts of the Catholic Church is EVERYWHERE!
From free food, groceries, counseling and monetary help to homes for pregnant girls and free baby items for those in need (brand new). I have witnessed lives changed because of the Catholic Church and their help.
No other religion comes close.

I am proud of my Church and will defend it against those who question it’s integrity.
 
Should the Church sell off the art/ect to the highest bidder?

Not being accusatory, just asking. Would you object to a buyer that would burn the stuff? Just wondering…
 
031064 said:
this is not an attack on the Catholic Chruch. I must ask however, why do we have such large chruches and 40 billion in assets when we could donate it to the poor and others in need.
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Because, as we are reminded by Christ himself, man does not live by bread alone. Would the poor really be better off if they each got $10 ($40 billion divided by roughly the number of poor in the world) and all the great Catholic churches became museums, and one had to pay a fee to see all the great Catholic art? Or even worse, if that art went into private collections where nobody could see it and be uplifted by it?
 
Most of Her possessions are gifts. Not a good idea to flog your birthday presents right after the party.
 
Just to let you guys know, I am not at all trying to attack the chruch, I am also a warrior for the integrity of the chruch, sometimes I just hav eto ask these questions- I’m only 15. Sorry if I offended anyone.
 
Another thing to think about… most of the great cathedrals of the world have been tremendous investments. When a medieval town built a cathedral, it would indeed take immense sums of money and sometimes as long as 200 YEARS to complete. BUT… the benefits to the town were enormous. First, large numbers of artisans were employed. Building a cathedral and maintaining it could become an industry in itself, and it provided hundreds, if not thousands, of badly needed jobs to these towns. These cathedrals would also be centers of learning and education. Until the 1700s, education was basically run by the church, and until the 1200s, there weren’t even universities in Europe (although the first were created by the Catholic Church too). If you wanted to learn to read and write, you had to go to the seminaries that were attached to cathedrals (even if you were a king or merchant, certain numbers of the non-religious would be allowed to attend to get an education). Thirdly, these cathedrals became sites of tourism and pilgrimage. People would come from far and wide to see these grand structures. These people needed places to stay and eat, such as inns and taverns, and so these pilgrimages would enrich the spiritual life of people far and wide, as well as further help the local economy. Despite the enormous cost of these structures, not only did they make their money back many, many times over, but the money donated by pilgrims raised millions for charity, and the town received tremendous financial benefit.

Think about it… even today, the biggest pilgrimage sites (and tourist attractions) in Europe are places such as the Vatican, Notre Dame, the Cathedral (and Leaning Tower) of Pisa, and so on… How much revenue do you think this brings in for their operations each year? How much more do you think gets donated to charity? Financially and spiritually, there is great benefit.
 
031064 said:
this is not an attack on the Catholic Chruch. I must ask however, why do we have such large chruches and 40 billion in assets when we could donate it to the poor and others in need.
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And, (assuming we find buyers, and that we can pry the artwork off the walls of our churches in the first place, without damaging it irreparably) what do we do for an encore?

There is no way we could raise enough money to feed all of the poor for all time.

A second consideration is that our most beautiful churches were actually built by the poor, and belong to them. Should we steal from the poor in order to feed them? I think not. (I find it fascinating that the most beautiful churches are in the poorest areas, but the most poverty-stricken churches - the barren concrete boxes - are in the wealthy neighborhoods. I don’t notice those people giving more to the poor than they otherwise would, either.)

It would also be a great loss for both art and Christian evangelism if the great art of the Catholic Church were sold off to private collections, never to be seen again. My own journey to the Catholic faith was aided by the art on the walls of my parish church. I’d hate to see it stripped out and sold off.
 
My answer to this question will start first with a question.

Just who is the Catholic Church?
Answer, We are!
Should we sit back and say that our Church (that usually means " someone else") should support this and support that, while we do little. The Church does much through organizations like the Catholic Charities, and the works of the Religious.
I belong to the Knights of Columbus. Here are some of the things we have done:
• Supporting vocations through the Refund Support Vocations Program (RSVP) and the $2 million Knights of Columbus Vocations Scholarship Fund.
• Promoting evangelization through our Catholic advertising program and by assistance to the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN). Providing a mobile TV production unit to the Vatican and funding satellite appliance for papal ceremonies.
• Establishing the $20 million Vicarius Christi Fund, with earnings given to the Pope each year for his personal charities.
• Establishing a $1 million Fr. McGivney Memorial Fund for the development/enhancement of Catholic education in the U.S. and Canada.
• Sponsoring the Pope John XXIII Center’s seminars on life-death issues for bishops of the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and the Philippines.
• Distributing special K of C rosaries at the rate of 10,000 monthly
• Creating a $2 million endowment for the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
• Funding the Order’s response to Catholic issues in Canada and special Catholic projects through the $150,000 Catholic Initiatives in Canada Fund.
• Donating more than $85 million to charitable causes (sick, disaster victims, disabled, civic and community projects) last year ($565 million since 1979) and volunteering more than 27 million manhours in community service to youth, hospitals, orphanages, handicapped individuals, retarded citizens, food banks (164 million manhours since 1979).
• Making more than 3.4 million visits to the sick and bereaved, donating well over $11 million to churches, homes for the aged, orphanages and hospitals and providing more than 6.4 million hours of service to sick or disabled family members last year.
• Raising funds and donating time to help house, educate, employ and provide social opportunities for retarded and handicapped citizens.
• Working with local food banks and soup kitchens collecting food and providing manpower through “Operation Care and Share.”
• Organizing educational, social, service and athletic programs for young people. Local councils and assemblies sponsor Columbian Squires circles, Scout troops programs to help teens deal with alcohol, drugs, suicide and other problems, as well as opportunities simply to have fun.
• Donating blood—300,000 donors last year alone.

Each local Council is very active in the needs of their local communities and donates money and voluntreers time to the poor, disabled, and elderly.

There are many hands already at work, but the hands of many more are still needed.

God Bless 👍
 
031064 said:
Just to let you guys know, I am not at all trying to attack the chruch, I am also a warrior for the integrity of the chruch, sometimes I just hav eto ask these questions- I’m only 15. Sorry if I offended anyone.
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It’s ok to ask questions. 🙂 And you’re not the first one to ask it, either. How are you to find things out if you don’t ask?
 
031064 said:
this is not an attack on the Catholic Chruch. I must ask however, why do we have such large chruches and 40 billion in assets when we could donate it to the poor and others in need.
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You sound EXACTLY like Judas. It was he who had the same complaint.

Ken
 
kleary said:
You sound EXACTLY like Judas. It was he who had the same complaint.
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That was an uncharitable thing to say. Christ told us to love one another and not to judge each other. Your reply showed a failure of both.
 
You will learn as you mature in age this one simple undisputable claim…To make money, you need to spend money, to be able to give money you have to make the money. We are in the process of building a new school at my parish, along with needed repairs to the main church and renovations on the exsisting school which will be turned into church offices and catechisis areas. We have already spent 3.7 million and need another 2.7 million to finish. Through donations from parish members we will continue to have a church and school that draws our children and grandchildren to Him. We also have a sister school in the south pacific that we support with generous donations from parish members. If we lose our parish, who would support these underprivlideged children? Hope that helps. God bless.
 
031064 said:
this is not an attack on the Catholic Chruch. I must ask however, why do we have such large chruches and 40 billion in assets when we could donate it to the poor and others in need.
Click to expand...
You do know that the churches were built through donations, right?

Sub
 
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