No, but I get to pay for his minions

Post #204,304 by scoenye 4/21/05 3:43:11 PM Reply	No, but I get to pay for his minions And I have no say in that either. 1830's style "liberal" Constitution to thank for that. There is a whole industry dependent on that money, so any attempt to take that clause out creates an instant Jihad. Other than the above (which affects me regardless of how far right of Atilla the Hun the next pope comes from), it doesn't touch me whatsoever. But as the church has excelled in embrace and extend for the past 2 millenia, it is rather ironic that holding on to "their" values is now causing the flock to scatter all over the map. If he would stick to ruling catholics, I couldn't care less, but unfortunately, he will cause the untimely deaths of countless people in less fortunate parts of the world, regardless of their beliefs. The Vatican's damning influence on any UN conference that even hints at means of family planning other than the one on the Vatican's approved list sees to that. (And yes, the US and Iran don't help there either, but if at least one of the major faiths could start caring for people instead of their rulebook, maybe progress could be made.)
Post #204,307 by boxley 4/21/05 3:51:05 PM Reply	you pay for his minions? Do you live in vatican city? 1830's style constitution hmm, Australia? NZ? thanx, bill All tribal myths are true, for a given value of "true" Terry Pratchett [link\|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/\|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/] Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 48 years. meep questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #204,342 by CRConrad 4/21/05 4:50:40 PM Reply	Sigh... Sven is a Brussels sprout. HTH!
Post #204,353 by scoenye 4/21/05 5:06:46 PM Reply	Belgium Our Consitution has a provision that the state pays for the infrastructure and personnel necessary to conduct the business of religion. Needless to say, at that time the country was still 99.9% catholic. Today, the sum has grown to $500M/year, of which 77% still goes to the catholic church. By the latest data, only 11% of the general population still goes to church every week, with a few more showing up for Easter and Christmas. 65% never attends church anymore. Something is just ever so lopsided there... (Oh, and the church over here employs the best CFOs on the planet. Every year, the expense accounts match the prebates to the penny. I think the word "fraud" would come to mind if this were any other enterprise...) Granted, a lot of the old churches have become staples of the tourist trade, but it would be better if those were maintained in their own right. It would definitely increase transparency.
Post #204,369 by boxley 4/21/05 7:43:58 PM Reply	was that done because the state confiscated the church lands? Usually something like that is done as a quid pro quo but I dont know enough of your history. thanx, bill All tribal myths are true, for a given value of "true" Terry Pratchett [link\|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/\|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/] Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 48 years. meep questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]
Post #204,489 by scoenye 4/22/05 2:13:51 PM Reply	Mostly thanks to Napoleon...
Post #204,617 by boxley 4/24/05 10:03:37 PM Reply	should have recognized the date :-( all the church lands now belong to the estat in return the estat recognizes the clergy as a political estat and should share the tax base. thanx, bill All tribal myths are true, for a given value of "true" Terry Pratchett [link\|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/\|http://boxleys.blogspot.com/] Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 48 years. meep questions, help? [link\|mailto:pappas@catholic.org\|email pappas at catholic.org]

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