Taxing Catholics and Independence of Bishops

While Germany is Europe’s wealthiest Catholic Church there are 25 million Catholics compared to the 75 million Catholics in the US. The numbers make up the difference money wise for the US church. As for the independence of the German bishops it may have to do more with the declining number of Catholics in Europe which keeps the European bishops on their toes. The American Catholic church is declining. Witness all those Indian and African priests making up for the unwillingness of American Catholics to join those ranks. The reason the Catholic bishops feel more secure is that religions are outwardly respected more in the US. As far as I am concerned that just means that there are more hypocrites in the US. Studies show that the morality of Catholics and Protestants are not in accordance with the gospel. Religion, at least in politics and in the media is still in. It will be interesting when that comes crashing down. Maybe the American bishops will become as humble as the German bishops. Perhaps wealthy Catholic Germans don’t use the church to exert power the way American Catholics due because the Church does not have the cachet that the American church has. The American Catholics are pretty fed up. It will be interesting what wealthy conservative Catholics will do when it becomes clear that they are betting on the wrong horse. The power vacuum that might ensue will hopefully be filled by the gospel.

German Bishops and the Church Tax

German bishops want to excommunicate any Catholics who opt out of the Church tax. Their reasoning is that those who refuse to pay the tax are opting out of membership in the church also. Many Catholics disagree. Notice how much the “Sacraments” are talked about in this issue. Critics rightly term the “Church of the Sacraments” as problematic. As if the very reception makes you a disciple rather than the imitation of Christ’s commands. Catholics know the sacraments more than they know the beatitudes which spell out the essential gospel. Somehow the sacraments can be reconciled with war and anger while the beatitudes not so easily. Indian and African priests come here on the money train to administer the sacraments while leaving the world’s poorest in their own country. Why can’t the Mafia be buried in the church when the hierarchy see the sacraments more as matter and form rather than discipleship.

Millions of children die before the age of five lacking basics

Fewer than seven million children around the world died before their fifth birthday from disease and birth complications in 2011 — a new low — the World Health Organization, theUnited Nations Children’s Fund and other agencies announced Wednesday. About 12 million children that age died in 1990, and the numberfell below 10 million for the first time in 2007, so the pace of saving children’s lives is accelerating, experts said. Half of all the deaths occurred in five countries: India, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan and China. The leading causes, in descending order, were pneumonia, premature birth, diarrhea, birth complications and malaria. Most of those deaths were preventable with relatively cheap interventions, the United Nationsagencies said.

Undeclared Saints

Romero, the Jesuit martyrs  are shining examples of imitation of Christ. What is notable is that none of them have been officially recognized by Rome. Which means that the boys of the Tiber remains committed to Empire over the Way of Christ and remain more like the Scribes and Pharisees. They build cathedrals which have mausoleums for sale to the wealthy while the poor remain under-serviced. Another example of this lack of service which features Empire  is the inordinate amount of foreign priests who are in this country while they leave the poor in India and Africa neglected. American still has more priests per capita than African and India while more come here attracted by a better life for themselves not their people. This movement is driven by money from American bishops which foreign bishops relish more than service to their own people. 

There is indeed much good being done after the example of Romero and the Jesuit Martyrs. Little of it is coming from the chanceries.

From Savings and Loans to Great Recession

First it was the Savings and Loans fiasco, then the Great Recession bailout. The banks got bailed out while ordinary people lost their homes. They had the nerve to blame the recession on homeowners who lost control. It was certainly that but the banks orchestrated the whole blowup and came out still giving dazzling bonuses to its incompetent leaders.

When running for President Hilary Clinton propose that there should be a cap on credit rates to a reasonable limit under ten percent. The banks responded that they lost so much on the savings and loan downfall that they had to recover their losses by raising credit card rates. What? Who caused the Savings and Loan disaster? The banks did. Now they wanted help for their mistakes. Talk about welfare fraud. Like the guy said about banks being worse than robbers. A thief takes what is in your wallet at that time. The banks destroy your whole life.

Banks manipulating interest rates and abusing credit cards.

This is an enormous problem of crime by the banks and cannot be over emphasized. This is the main reason for the great recession and why the economy is in the dumps and housing is in the cellar. What is most outrageous is that the banks have the hubris to fight regulations and are succeeding because congressman and senators have no morals and are afraid of losing financing to to getting elected again. The public rightly holds the banks and congress in low regard. Commonweal’s editorial of June 15 is a step in the right direction. This is a corruption, collusion and cover-up which is bigger than the crimes of the bishops because it has endangered a whole nation and destroyed the Middle Class.

Sharing with Others.

One of the gospel messages of sharing one's material possessions so that one will grow in spiritual riches is largely ignored by most Christians. Especially bishops who regale in their luxurious mansions with plentifule servants. Bishops like Oscar Romero who declare for the poor are ostracized while those who side with the rich are honored and praised. Francis of Assissi made poverty  the mission of his order because he knew that wars were fought over money and that the way to have peace was to renounce wealth. Christianity has been the source for too many to build empires rather than to build up the body of Christ, Christ's people. 






“For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. Not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their needs, so that their abundance may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. As it is written: Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less.” (2 Corinthians 8: 9, 13-15)