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Gingersnaps4
Guest
I don’t see how you could ever make a donation anywhere with your point of view. Not even to a beggar in the street. How could you trust how the money would be spent?
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paperwight
Guest
I certainly would NOT give money to a beggar in the street
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IdaCatholic
Guest
It is not advisable to give money to beggars on the street. Precisely because they may not have the will or the knowledge or the ability to use that money to help their lives. Much better to fund an organization that has credible results and accurate and visible accounting. Even better to provide a solution to the beggars need. A meal for the beggar, or the family, or a coat, or a kind conversation. To sit with them as a fellow human and preach the Good News. To listen to the beggar. Panhandling is not only a misunderstood activity, it is counterproductive to the poor. It massages the conscience of the satisfied. It honestly is offering a thirsty man sea water.
True support, even financially, comes with the moral responsibility to make sure the money you give is not robbed for a different purpose. An evil or counterproductive purpose.
I urge you and anyone who funds charity to pay attention to the overhead, the fund use, the accounting, the responsibility.
And as someone who works with “beggers” homeless, etc and interacts with them I really urge you to never give “money” to a beggar. It really hinders the help they have at their fingertips.
True support, even financially, comes with the moral responsibility to make sure the money you give is not robbed for a different purpose. An evil or counterproductive purpose.
I urge you and anyone who funds charity to pay attention to the overhead, the fund use, the accounting, the responsibility.
And as someone who works with “beggers” homeless, etc and interacts with them I really urge you to never give “money” to a beggar. It really hinders the help they have at their fingertips.
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PetraG
Guest
I worded that wrong. Yes, you are citing instances when of course the faithful deserve an accounting and may decide to at least donate in a targetted way to those who seem worth of a position of trust with money meant to do the work of the Church.
Legal defense is a bit of a different matter. For every priest who faces an accusation, there are a hundred or two hundred who are worried that their life could be turned upside down if they are falsely accused. They give up everything to become priests and they stand to lose all of that if they are accused of some terrible thing they never did and no one defends them. That is the reason that the bishop really ought to pay for the legal defense of accused priests, and not leave that for the taxpayers to pay for. Being a diocesan priest exposes a man to the spectre of false accusation. He needs to know that he will not be left to fend for himself if that happens. I do not have a problem with that, even knowing that this means that it will also mean paying for the legal defense of offenders.
I also think it is better for a diocese to give room-and-board support to an ordained offender who cannot be prosecuted, if that means the offender agrees to live in a supervised situation, such as a cloister. I would not object to my donations being used for that purpose.
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Gingersnaps4
Guest
Yeah, it was an example to underline that you can literally give to no one with that mindset because you can’t possibly know every single detail about another person or charity. I also don’t give money to people on the street, but I would give items or food. The thing is, God rewards us for giving to the church in good faith regardless of where the money ends up. Let God worry about that side of it.
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dochawk
Guest
I had been completely abstaining from RC diocesan appeals for years before I turned East.
I’m a bankruptcy attorney, and understand the math: for dioceses that haven’t settled yet, each donation increases the settlement size, dollar for dollar. It is bankruptcy law that is determining the size of the total settlement for any given diocese.
Post- settlement is (rather, would have been) a different story.
When I arrived in DuBois, the priest was starting a fundraiser, and noted that if they didn’t raise the necessary funds, we’d have to be up in the tower ourselves with hammers and paintbrushes.
I told him after Mass that I didn’t have any cash I could contribute, but that I could wield a hammer or brush.
Apparently, that response hadn’t occurred to him . .
catholic03
Well-known member
Just think, if every person in the world was a practising Catholic then war, fighting, strife and poverty would not exist.
I think people should pray for this.
I think people should pray for this.
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Frankie65
Guest
Dear everyone. I made an unjust and rash comment about the bishops of England upwind. Have deleted the comments. I am very sorry about any scandal this might have caused anyone
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woolycaterpillar
Guest
Where I live many people own two houses. They have lovely homes here and homes in “cold weather” states. They come here to escape the cold weather.
Some seem to have a lot of money. As our pastor put it, he knew when he saw a Porsche in the parking lot that many people are quite affluent.
I don’t know what they donate, but you would think they would donate quite a bit. But bear in mind that they must contribute to their parish up north as well.
At that point, if it were me, (and it isn’t) I would just sell the house up north and be relieved of that burden. Then, hopefully, giving would not be an issue.
Some seem to have a lot of money. As our pastor put it, he knew when he saw a Porsche in the parking lot that many people are quite affluent.
I don’t know what they donate, but you would think they would donate quite a bit. But bear in mind that they must contribute to their parish up north as well.
At that point, if it were me, (and it isn’t) I would just sell the house up north and be relieved of that burden. Then, hopefully, giving would not be an issue.
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Convert3
Guest
Many people that have two homes and a fancy car are sadly stretched to the limits with their finances trying to live a certain lifestyle. So they may not be giving as much as you think. I remember back in my Air Force days I was “asked” to run that year’s Combined Federal Campaign which was a Hugh charity fund raiser for charities. We had a goal to meet, so there was a lot of pressure on me. I found the younger airmen would give up a much larger percentage of their paycheck than the senior officers. The higher the rank, it seemed, the smaller the donation. I would have brought this up with my commander, but he was one of the smallest givers.
However, they may or may not have been Christian and I didn’t know anything about their personal finances. As a Catholic, I try to give generously throughout the year. My wife and I are very comfortable, but we are retired and have to monitor our spending to make sure it lasts the rest of our lives. We also have certain family members who are in need of our help, plus we want to leave a nest egg to our kids and grandkids. Giving is a deeply personal decision.
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woolycaterpillar
Guest
Love that dog you have on your page. It reminds me of Barney, a dog I had long ago.
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Convert3
Guest
His name was Cruiser . He was a beagle/basset mix. I lost my best buddy four years ago.
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