I really have a problem with the Catholic Church being construed as a "church" and singled out in this thread (along with the likes of of the Bakkers, who were scam artists, not religious leaders, who used individuals' weaknesses to take advantage of them). Let's be honest - the CC is more of a business than spiritual sanctuary. The Vatican City isn't even a city so much as it's another world entirely, not even a part of any recognized country.
There's a huge difference between your local hometown church that provides religious and/or spiritual services, counsel, charity, etc., and the enormous CC, so full of pomp and circumstance, and headquartered in its own country, if you will, thousands of miles away, in secrecy. The local church, whether or not you subscribe to the particular ideologies of that church, makes an effort to be involved in its local community; provides meals, clothing, shelter to those in need; passes on tithings to orphanages, and the like; and, most importantly, provides spiritual counsel to those who desperately seek a 'higher' purpose or just something to believe in. Perhaps the biggest charity a church can offer is the time and effort of its pastors and counselors. The pastors, ministers, etc. usually have 'actual' jobs to pay the bills, or are retired, and don't take much pay, if any, from the church.
By contrast, the CC conducts itself as a business throughout the world. Even your soul has a price in the CC. It is a profitable organization that holds its finances in such secret, that it must be because it would be appalling to know the amount of money it rakes in.
I was born a Catholic, raised a Christian, and then grew a brain of my own. I am not religious, nor am I defending churches; I am spiritual, and I do take issue - HUGE issue - with organized religion as a whole. I do believe that there are many people, some of whom I have known very personally, that have been on the receiving end of the charitable donations of a church, most often in the form of personal and spiritual guidance, and, as much as I want to, I cannot deny that it was the church that helped to make them happy, healthy, kinder, and hold themselves to a higher standard.
I don't have a problem with non-profit organizations of
any kind being exempt - as long as they keep and produce the books that evidence that they are on the up-and-up. Just because I don't subscribe to their ideologies doesn't mean they shouldn't exist. I believe that battered women should stop fucking crying about it and leave their abusers, but I'm certainly not trying to make their lives harder by giving the battered women's shelters a hard time about how they manage their funds.
Edit:
Because you have no fucking manners.
And no fucking manners either.
