Comments on: Los Mormones, Polygamia y Queso

By: Rusty

Rusty — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 01:42:12 +0000

Troy,
First of all, like I mentioned above, this post really isn’t about how naive this woman was or about how much money the Catholic Church has. But in response I probably would have said that it actually has quite a bit of money considering it’s size (I had already justified churches having money when she seemed to be condemning it).

But again, if that’s what you saw as the message of this post then I failed in my writing of it. Hopefully I’ll do better next time.

By: Troy T

Troy T — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 01:17:14 +0000

What if she’d turned the tables on you and asked how much money your church had? Could you have given her an answer? Is it not reasonable to think, then, that she could go back to her fellow Catholics with a story of naieve Mormons who didn’t know how much money their institution had?

By: Hellmut

Hellmut — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 02:43:35 +0000

My understanding is that Catholic dioceses are financially pretty much autonomous. When I lived in Cologne, people claimed that their diocese was wealthier than the Vatican.

I have to warn you though. All of that was just gossip that may or may not be accurate.

Anyways, I can imagine that the Catholic Church is rich in some parts of the world and poor in others.

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 22:08:43 +0000

Actually, her ignorance doesn’t surprise me at all. How much do the members of the Catholic Church (or any other church) really understand about what’s going on? I know members of the LDS church are confidant that no matter where we go in the world, the church is the same. But how many of us have gone “ward shopping”? How many Catholic Parishes differ from one another, based on who’s the local clergy? If I was an old woman, living in Spain, in a tiny village, and had taken care of “my” church for decades, I’d probably think it was mine, too. Or at least I’d try to convince the tourists it was… ;)

By: john f.

john f. — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:50:50 +0000

I studied Catalan as part of my work for my master’s degree. It really is a beautiful and intriguing language.

Did she switch to Spanish once you got into the conversation? It is interesting that she didn’t know of the wealth of the Catholic Church.

By: Seth R.

Seth R. — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 04:37:17 +0000

I definitely think there is a certain point at which it’s better to simply avoid upsetting people unduly.

By: Don

Don — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 04:20:36 +0000

Bret, don’t you know God owns everything?

Rusty, thanks for sharing, I probably would have said “hi” and been on my way….even if I could speak the language.

By: Bret

Bret — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:26:16 +0000

Anyone know a good source(s) on the finances of the Catholic Church? My roommate and I were discussing that very thing a few weeks ago and now I’m very curious. Does the Vatican own all/most of the real estate? Etc etc.

So what’s my trip gift, Russ?

By: Susan M

Susan M — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 23:02:20 +0000

What an awesome place. Thanks for the pictures.

By: jw

jw — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:31:31 +0000

Mmmmm: cheese. It’s too bad that Utah doesn’t produce any distinctive, interesting, well-known cheeses; it could be a great missionary tool in Europe. I suppose the US in general is pretty lame cheese-wise (it’s those danged regulations against unpasteurized milk products!), so at least it’s not the exception. Still, it would be nice.