What are donations used for (i.e., tithe)?

[housewife]

I was saddened yesterday to confirm that my DF is upset that the church receives money from more than 2 billion Catholics worldwide (i.e., a dollar each a week is more than 2 billion dlls…according to him) and that so many people are in need.

He also wonders why so many are in need and at the same time, according to him, the Pope wears expesive attire or something like that. I told him that it was a sin to be upset at the church/priest/pope regardless of whether they are wrong or not. God is next to them and he is the only one to judge. I am starting to wonder if it is just something else that he is upset about. He literally began to raise his voice (like a preacher).

I also understand that even though we might be more than 2 billion Catholics worldwide, unfortunately not everyone goes to church and not everyone donates (i.e., tithe) atleast a dollar.

By the way, he is a Catholic.

Has anyone had this experience in which you have to try and guide your parents into understanding the Catholic church based on what we know?

He seems very lost on what being Catholic is all about. I want to help him. If he wants to know what the money is used for, I don’t know if that is right or not, I would like to provide him with vast amounts of examples, but I surely ignore many. I know one for sure, which is NFP programs. Those are free as well as the supplies used for charting.

Could anyone please give me links or a list of what church donations are used for (i.e., tithe).

 

[Em_in_FL]

I would contact your local parish and diocese… a lot of services are done quietly without much fanfare.
Look up your parish website and diocese website… you may find the answers there…

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

You came to the right spot!

http://www.catholicity.com/commentary/hudson/00214.html

(You want #6.)

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=153704

If your friend is talking about offering envelopes, the parish should have an annual financial report. That will explain usually that, despite best efforts, there’s a deficit. It goes, in most parishes, to utlities, building maintenance, bulletins, web site fees, parish programs, etc. Some of that goes to the poor directly. Some of it is donated to other charities that help the poor.

If your friend is talking about diocese funds, most dioceses get less than 1% of anybody’s take home pay. That goes to run Catholic Charities, the tribunal, a host of other charities, building maintenance, etc.

Think about those nondenominational churches that meet in huge, erented office buildings. Is that any cheaper? And they usually ask their congregants to give 10% of their gross income (earnings before taxes and stuff like that). Does anybody who bothers the Catholic Church about what it gets in funds ask hte same question of these ecclesial communities?

 

[ack]

1. Not every Catholic goes to Mass every week
2. Not every Catholic in Mass gives a donation
3. Not every donation equals a dollar (in many poor countries a dollar is a sizable sum.)
4. Only a small portion of the donations actually end up at the Vatican. Most stay with the parish.
5. Catholic Charities spent 3.8 billion dollars last year helping the poor in the United States alone (catholiccharitiesusa.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=291)

Here are some things that your parish uses your donation for:

1. Heat and electricity
2. Building maintenance
3. Stipend and health care for the priest and staff
4. Health care for retired priests

Does he have any idea how expensive these things are? The cost to heat and maintain a large building nowadays is absolutely astronomical. Does your DH think your heating and electricity bills are too high? Try multiplying them by 15, and think about how hard it is for your parish to get by even on a dollar a parishioner a week.

I was saddened yesterday to confirm that my DF is upset that the church receives money from more than 2 billion Catholics worldwide (i.e., a dollar each a week is more than 2 billion dlls…according to him) and that so many people are in need.

He also wonders why so many are in need and at the same
time, according to him, the Pope wears expesive attire or something like that. I told him that it was a sin to be upset at the church/priest/pope regardless of whether they are wrong or not. God is next to them and he is the only one to judge. I am starting to wonder if it is just something else that he is upset about. He literally began to raise his voice (like a preacher).

I also understand that even though we might be more than 2 billion Catholics worldwide, unfortunately not everyone goes to church and not everyone donates (i.e., tithe) atleast a dollar.

By the way, he is a Catholic.

Has anyone had this experience in which you have to try and guide your parents into understanding the Catholic church based on what we know?

He seems very lost on what being Catholic is all about. I want to help him. If he wants to know what the money is used for, I don’t know if that is right or not, I would like to provide him with vast amounts of examples, but I surely ignore many. I know one for sure, which is NFP programs. Those are free as well as the supplies used for charting.

Could anyone please give me links or a list of what church donations are used for (i.e., tithe).

 

[nicolep]

The largest part of our tithes go to the parish. For a large parish such as mine, it costs about $5 million a year just to run the building.

As a previous poster said, most things are done behind the scenes. The Church doesn’t necessarily announce every good deed. To paraphrase Jesus from the bible, those who receive their thanks on earth don’t receive it in heaven. They have already received their reward.

Here’s a link to Catholic Charities USA. It’s a starting point. Good luck!

 

[puzzleannie]

every parish and diocese, every Catholic social service agency, school, hospital, charitable organization, and the Vatican publish financial statements each year. the information is readily available for anyone who genuinely wants the information and is ready to use it rationally.

Tithing is not required of Catholics, although some parishes and individual do so voluntarily. Catholics are required to support the Church and her ministries, those donations, the timing and the amount are also voluntary.

The Sunday collection goes largely to support the physical plant, salaries and overhead for the main mission of the Parish, which is to provide the sacraments and to evangelize and educate. A portion is a tithe to the bishop to pay similar expenses of the diocese (currently abuot 11%). A portion of this is devoted to the charitable ministries conducted in, or supported by, the parish and diocese. In addition most parishes and dioceses have special collections periodically for endeavors directed specifically at meeting material needs of the poor.

if the Vatican sold all its buildings and art treasures–assuming there would be buyers available–the income would feed the world’s poor for a day or so. Those buildings and art treasures are viewed as a heritage belonging to western culture, not private possessions that can be sold and bartered, however.

 

[jmcrae]

Could anyone please give me links or a list of what church donations are used for (i.e., tithe).

Your parish has a Finance Council. The person to ask is the Chair of the Finance Council. His phone number is listed in the weekly Bulletin that you bring home from Church every Sunday, along with other important volunteers in your parish. (There will be a list of names, with their roles, and then a phone number to call.)

That person can provide you with the latest published financial report. If the report isn’t very detailed, your husband can ask for more detail. (For example, “Parish operations” might include wages for a caretaker and a secretary, incidentals like cleaning supplies, toilet paper, towels, coffee, juice, cookies, paper, pens, printer ink, software upgrades for the computer, paper clips, binders, file folders, money for the heat, sewer, and electric, and so on.)