Is it a Business or it's a Business?

Question

"The Vatican's treasure of solid gold has been estimated by the United Nations World Magazine to amount to several billion dollars. A large bulk of this is stored in gold ingots with the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, while banks in England and Switzerland hold the rest. But this is just a small portion of the wealth of the Vatican, which in the U.S. alone, is greater than that of the five wealthiest giant corporations of the country. When to that is added all the real estate, property, stocks and shares abroad, then the staggering accumulation of the wealth of the Catholic church becomes so formidable as to defy any rational assessment.

Matthew 6:24
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Money.
Matthew 19:21
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

to Swordsman

It seems like this person is confused. You are talking about local Church and we are talking about the head of all churches

http://www.chick.com/reading/books/153/153_10.asp

to ag_iitkgp
No i don't have any idea what their treasures are and i can say i don't know. I don't need to come up with explanation for something i have no clue. I am not religious. Thank you.
Therefore GOD and Money exists.

Answer 1

it was really a LUCRATIVE BUSINESS. according to history catholic popes in the early years even sold INDULGENCE, closely related to penance. the purchasing of indulgence for a specified sum of money by one who had sinned enabled the pope to draw on the "treasury of merits" in heven and apply the the goodness of departed saints stored in this treasury to the sin of the penitent individual. one might even shorten the time of a departed friend in purgatory by the purchasing of an indulgence in his name. the pope granted full indulgences guaranting the remission of sins to anyone who would go on a crusade against the catholic church. It was used to financed the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. Overly enthusiastic salesmen offered the forgiveness of sins not yet commited to those who would purchase an indulgence.

There is also the business known as "SIMONY". Pope Leo X made more than one million dollars annually from the sale of over two-thousand offices. the offices of the churches was frequently purchased by some wealthy nobleman for his son as a scholarship to guarantee his education. the income from one of these positions would provide a young man to complete his schooling. the value of such an arrangement can be seen in the estimate that only one person in every ten thousand in Western Europe during the latter-medieval period (1000-1300 AD) could read or write.

Answer 2

If that's true then why are the various diocese selling off Church property to pay the class action suits relating to sex abuse scandals. In truth rumors have always been aroud regarding the wealth of the Catholic Church. I say rumors.

Answer 3

Yes

Answer 4

Hard to tell what your question is.

Are you providing information for your resume so you can get a job at the Vatican?

Answer 5

Do you have any idea of the treasures of Islam or Hinduism ???

Answer 6

hate to be rude but actually it's
it is a business.

Answer 7

Everything is business....people gotta eat!....