Openmind. I am not sure what you are getting at. I contributed to two envelopes that clearly say where the money is going.
One is for Priest support. This includes according to the envelope, to support Priests of this parish and meet normal household expenses.
To support sick and retired Priests.
To support Priest in needy Parishes. (if you are not a needy parish yourself)
and to support the Archbishop.
Last week This raised $964 according to our newsletter.
The second envelope is for Church support.
To pay our Parish operating costs .(including debt repayment_)
To support the growth of Parish and Diocesan services
To provide for charitable works.
$1,545 was raised for this last week.
There are also an occasional collection for St Vincent De Paul and other charities.
I do not think these collections make the church rich.Very few people can live on less than a thousand dollars a week. Let alone a Priest who is on duty 24 hours a day seven days a week.
We get more envelopes than that. . .and I VERY MUCH resent that the POPE gets ANYTHING from ANY parish! Do you realize how many parishes there are in the world? Do you realize that the pope (or the Vatican) makes HUGE profit just from visitors to the Vatican?
And why should the bishop (any bishop) live like a prince? you talk about your parish. . .and that's great. I know that our parish (a small one, without even a dedicated priest, since we have to share it with another parish) collects a lot more than that every week, because of the community where I live which is very upper middle class.
I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have been raised in Catholic school for 12 years, and have been very familiar with the Catholic Church in general. I will concede that the Catholic hospitals do a lot of good for many people, and I have NO PROBLEM helping with that. I do have problem with the Catholic Church being run as a business, but counting on the "charity" of their parishioners to "pay" their staff (the priests!) and to provide a retirement fund for that same staff (the old and disabled priests and nuns).
I do not believe that Jesus Christ would have approved of the wealth that is contained in the Vatican, or in any of the "big cathedrals" . . .while people around the vatican and around those cathedrals continue to fight for their survival.
The Catholic church in Europe does not expect their parishioners to support the priests to the level they do in America. In fact, it is expected that people going to a weekly service will give the equivalent of $5 for the cleaning and upkeep of the church where they attend service, the rest (and there is a second collect) is totally at the discretion of the parishioner.
I also resent the fact that the Catholic in America seems more concerned about the "politics of social issues" and trying to block gay rights, women's rights, abortion rights etc. . .than they are about caring and advocating for the needy. I am really angry about some Catholic Hospitals in the US having been found guilty of "dumping" elderly patients who could not pay for their own care. ..in spite of the law against dumping.
Daily Kos: (update) Sacred Heart Hospital In PA Dumps Patient In ...
www.dailykos.com/.../--update-Sacred-Heart-Hospital-In-PA-...
Jan 14, 2012 – (update) Sacred Heart Hospital In PA Dumps Patient In Cold Street ... I will continue to fight for a patient advocate at Sacred Heart if only because there were, and will be more victims to this ..... Shame on the Catholic Church
There are a lot of good, devoted Catholic people, and there are a lot of good, devoted Priests and nuns. But I have very little respect for the higher hierarchy of the Catholic church, and I do not believe they are truly serving the interests of the needy, as Jesus Christ had intended.