The Catholic church as an institution, is it hypocritical? Support you answer.?

Question

I went to a catholic school and i realized that they seemed to have a large sum of money as well as one of my friends churches just bought a plasma TV, not to mention the gold tabernacle and other pricey possessions, if the church is supposed to be about giving of ones self then why are they purchasing such extravagant items.

Answer 1

I agree with AMDG. The gold that you saw is most likely gold plated. And it is hypocritical for you to single out the Catholic Church and ignore the Protestant "Mega churches".

At the parish that I attend, it's very old, small, and a bit run down, and everyone has to crowd in with poorly functioning air conditioning. The parish priest does his best with the little that is collected to go for the daily maintenance and upkeep of the Church. The rest goes to various charities.

But, the building structures of the Church, being the house of God and a house of prayer, should be a place where God is glorified.

God instructed that the ark of the covenant be made with pure gold, and likewise the house of our Lord should be a reflection of us giving our best to glorify God. We should give the best that we have to offer to the household of our Lord, as Abel's sacrifice was the best that he had to offer.

"Now when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster jar of costly perfumed oil, and poured it on his head while he was reclining at table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and said, "Why this waste? It could have been sold for much, and the money given to the poor." Since Jesus knew this, he said to them, "Why do you make trouble for the woman? She has done a good thing for me. The poor you will always have with you; but you will not always have me. In pouring this perfumed oil upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Amen, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be spoken of, in memory of her." Then one of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests" -Matt. 26:6-14

When it comes to the Church, our attitude should not be like Cain, who held back and didn't want to give his best offerings to God or like Judas Iscariot who condemned the woman for using expensive perfume to glorify Jesus.

The Church needs money to function and to help others. But the Pope has no personal possessions. When John Paul II died, he had a plain, modest coffin, and had relatively nothing to leave to anyone. And for centuries, the Catholic Church is and has been by far the biggest help and most dedicated to the poorest of the poor in the world.

So, it is hypocritical to judge the Catholic Church unfairly.

Answer 2

Do not accuse the entire Catholic Church for any alleged misallocations of funds. The Catholic Church has a large sum of money because of it's many generous and charitable parishioners. Do not bastardize their cheerful giving.

Having said that, it is certainly possible for a given parish to spend more than is necessary, and/or by purchasing items of want rather than need.

It is not wrong for a church to purchase a television set. Given that high definition officially goes on line in 2009, it's not a bad idea to purchase a HD set now.

Does it have to be a plasma? I don't think so. Therefore I believe your feeling of wasted funds to be just, but do not jeopardize your position by resorting to overly zealous accusations and emotion.

Cooler heads have always prevailed in the Catholic Church.

As for the tabernacle, I do not have a problem with that. The tabernacle is where consecrated bread and wine are kept. It is where the Body and Blood of Christ rests in the Church. I have no problem honoring this belief with an ornate tabernacle.

As far as other extravagent items are concerned, you should see how extravagent God was as He discribed the objects the Hebrews were to construct in His honor. As I recall, God asked for an ornate ark for the Spiritually extravagent items such as the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments.

As far as giving one's self is concerned, it sounds like your parish has many selfless givers. That is why your parish has much in the way of funds. However, if you feel your church is abusing it's good fortune, please inquire about it.

Just consider the fact that God gave us five senses, no more and no less. It is right to honor and praise God using all five senses. A Catholic Church should be a feast for the eyes, as well as for the other senses.

Answer 3

I find it hard to believe that a Catholic Church would buy a Plasma TV - Electronic devices are not allowed in the Mass (with the exception of microphones and the like - TV's and Video presentations are not allowed).

As for the other things - what would you suggest used in the presence of God? Cheap plastic?

It is widely misunderstood that the Vatican and the Catholic Church is rich. While it is true that we have a considerable amount of money - 90% of what is owned is either land or priceless articles from antiquity (which are valueable, but have very little monitary value). Even if the Church were to sell off the gold and other "pricey possessions" it would hardly put a dent in the grand scheme of things. The poor will still be poor, the hungry will still be hungry.

It is far better to teach someone to take care of themselves than to take care of them. What is that saying? "Give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." That is the goal of the Catholic Church where charity is concerned - to teach someone how to fish.

You must also consider that the Catholic Church gives millions of dollars away for every natural disaster that come along - and expects nothing in return.

Answer 4

The purchase of a plasma TV by a single parish (which may have a very good use for it) and the finances of the Catholic Church worldwide are very different things.

The tabernacle is gold to honor the Lord. The point of the decorations, stained glass, statues, fine cloth, etc., are to honor the Lord. Often, these are given as donations by members of the community when a new parish is founded or rehabbed.

The same is true for the billions spent helping the poor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, preaching peace and the Love of Christ, dispensing medicine and trying to stop conflicts, these are all done to honor the Lord.

Answer 5

I would have to say that, yes, the Catholic Church is wrought with hypocrisy.

Let me take this in a slightly different direction; the new policies regarding the prohibition of ordainment of homosexual priests seem to treat genuine homosexuality as an inexcusable violation of nature while at the same time downplaying instances of homosexual lust.

Said one cardinal in clarifying the new rules and what was meant by the phrase 'transitory problems':

"For example, during an adolescence not yet completed, some curiosity; or, under accidental circumstances, when drunk, or other particular conditions such as a person who has been in prison for many years. In these cases, the possible homosexual acts do not come from a deeply seated tendency, but are determined by the circumstances," he said.

"Or, these acts are made to please someone and obtain advantages ... These acts in such cases do not originate from a 'deeply seated' tendency, but from other transitory circumstances, and these cases are not an obstacle to the admission to the seminary or to holy order. In this case though, they have to end at least three years before the diaconal ordainment."

In other words, same-sex sex is basically A-OK, so long as love wasn't involved in the act. A very convoluted opinion, IMO.

Answer 6

The Lord's house deserve to look nice and in order to attract more parishoners they need to keep up w/ the times by buying modern technology. They may want to teach using a video tape or show a movie of some sort that teaches a lesson. But it is not just Catholic churches, most churches are extravagent, some churches buy their pastors luxury cars and houses.

Answer 7

I would say that for the most part all religious institutions are hypocritical. Some more than others. The Catholic church, being the basis for all Christian churches in the west, is possibly the most hypocritical. However, I will say that I have a certain respect for Catholics. I'm not sure why but Catholics always seem to me to be more compassionate than other Christians. Also they don't try to jam their beliefs down your throat.

Answer 8

It's really not right, unless they're using it all in a sense to "worship." Of course, if you needed to worship with a TV, you could buy an old cheap one, rather than a top-of-the-line plasma TV and the rest could be donated to some kind of good. But who wants to go to a crappy looking Church? Most Catholics won't. For being one of the most strict sects of Christianity, it's also the most loosely followed.

Answer 9

This reminds me of the old joke about having to tiptoe past the first room in heaven because Catholics think they are the only ones there. Seriously the Catholic church has become way too political to not be considered hypocritical.

Answer 10

the church 1) condemns homosexuality, gay marriage, forgives pedophile priests and preaches divorced people will go to hell, yet there have been at least three gay popes and Leo was a damn pedophile. A LOT of gay sex has gone on in the vatican.

2) preaches peace and sacrafice for the faith yet did nothing to help jews escape the nazis.

3) preaches God is infallible and keeps women in subserviant positions yet refuses to admit a woman was allowed to become pope for a month.

4) won't let priests get married but deacons can

5) has vows of poverty yet have millions in cash and real estate and lets opus dei take everything it's members own.

6) has security for the pope like their worried about him dying and going to heaven. technically all the security the pope should need is God's will right?

7) re poverty vows: John Paul the Seconds LIMO and SUITE were auctioned off.

8) allows parishes to deny sacraments to gays and any friends or family who support them and conviently overlook the lesson of the good samaritan.

9) teaches that Jesus died for our sins yet catholics ( I was also raised one) have to pay to be baptized and confirmed.

10) and makes people pay for marriage counseling before the wedding.


Vin