Posted on 11/04/2011 7:02:26 AM PDT by decimon
The Borsa Italiana has a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. You are asking readers to believe (with no evidence) that the Holy See has liquid assets of over $150 billion? If you think they could be sitting on that kind of wealth and not be spending it (or even the dividends and interest earned), you don’t know human nature.
Well, I don’t know about your $150 billion number, but the evidence for the 15% figure is from Time magazine:
“Of this wealth, Italian stockholdings alone run to $1.6 billion, 15% of the value of listed shares on the Italian market. The Vatican has big investments in banking, insurance, chemicals, steel, construction, real estate. Dividends help pay for Vatican expenses and charities such as assisting 1,500,000 children and providing some measure of food and clothing to 7,000,000 needy Italians. Unlike ordinary stockholders, the Vatican pays no taxes on this income...”
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,833509,00.html#ixzz1clO1RnWD
Perhaps the difference is in what they are defining as “listed shares” vs. total market capitalization.
Hey, I agree with you that Benny Hinn and his ilk are frauds and rip-off artists, and some of these megachurches seem more interested in marketing themselves like a product rather than saving souls. I’ve got no problem criticizing Protestants too!
Your article says the Vatican endowment is worth $10 to $15 billion — about the same size as the University of Texas. Harvard University’s is about 3 times that size. You think this is worth huffing and puffing about? Who do you think does more good in the world?
Ireland is no longer a Catholic country. Sad, but that’s the fact.
Who’s huffing and puffing? I just pointed out that having a slim budget is not related to their wealth, and they do have billions of dollar.
And I say "What's it to you?"
Why do you care? What are you implying? How much do you think the Vatican should be allowed to have? Who would you like to decide how much is too much?
This "wealth" that attracts your weird obsessive interest serves to fund the Holy See's world-wide religious, charitable, and cultural responsibilities. You may think none of this is important -- but that would only mark you as a person of limited understanding and imagination. Believe me, it would be missed. Their endowment is less than the Ford Foundation's. Start yelling about them for a change and lay off the Catholic-bashing.
“I’ve got no problem criticizing Protestants too!”
I can criticize I used to be one. Protestant churches seem to be more worried about money than anything else. At least the ones I had contact with did. Was always “give us money give us money”, then they said there was no money for activities when we wanted to do something. I knew for a fact that church had several rich families who gave a lot so where was it going? These same rich families, their kids were little nimrods in Sunday school class and the teachers did nothing to curb them because...why? You guessed it, was afraid Mommy and Daddy would not give more money.
Okay here is an excellent example!!!!!!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2802710/posts
To quote a blogger on Yahoo “When mega and limos are used to describe a pastors life you know something went horribly wrong.”
I have never seen a protestant pastor or a catholic priest drive around in a limo! Until this story. This is just twisted beyond anything!
“You and I both know how much wealth is stored up in the catholic church though. To pretend otherwise is highly disingenuous.”
No, really, I don’t. I’d like to hear since you seem to know however. To pretend you do is highly disingenuous.
“Cut the crap. The wealth under the direct control of the catholics is in the hundreds of billions, if not low trillions.”
You cut the crap. Define “the catholics.” If you mean every Catholic - since there are over a billion now - then, yes, collectively there probably is well over a trillion dollars of wealth. If you mean the treasury of Vatican City, the you must be smoking a major crack pipe that only the most dedicated user could handle.
“facts never matter to the bigot.”
A sad fact that even on FR occasionally must be pointed out.
“And I say “What’s it to you?”
Why do you care? What are you implying?”
It’s nothing to me, and I don’t really care. I’m not implying anything. I was only pointing out that the Vatican is not poor, even though you said they had a “tight budget”. That’s all I’m saying. Stop reading more into my comments than is actually there, you are tilting at windmills.
Well, in my opinion, anyone who attends a church where the pastor is living lavishly like that deserves what they get. They are probably the same type of people that fall for the “prosperity gospel” nonsense. Caveat emptor.
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