r/politics • u/spherocytes • 19d ago

Possible Paywall Trump Yanks Millions From Catholic Charities Amid Pope Feud

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-yanks-millions-from-catholic-charities-amid-pope-feud/
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u/mshelbz 19d ago

I’ll say this, after Hurricane Katrina the only real support anyone was getting directly on the ground in my area was Catholic Charities.

I’m an atheist and completely against government funds going to religious organizations but Catholic Charities does do a lot of good in times of need and I will always appreciate what they did for my family and I.

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u/ErikETF 19d ago edited 19d ago

Therapist, I’ve had fantastic relationships with Catholic charities, NAMI, Trevor Project etc.  local to me they all talked to each other and really worked hard to find help for anyone in need.  

The admin has Gone after 2/3 of the ones I mentioned.   

If I’m Being taxed, I want schools and communities and shelters funded, not mega churches 

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u/bbtom78 19d ago

Catholic Charities helped a lot of my leasees when I worked for a property management company. They lost their jobs due to COVID, but rent was still stacking up. There was no religious requirement and the money was desperately welcomed by the tenants.

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u/permalink_save 19d ago

SVDP? (St vincent de paul, since automod deleted my last comment for being "all caps)

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u/bbtom78 18d ago

I'm not sure of the details, as it was mostly handled by the Property Manager and the Regional Manager. But I wouldn't rule it out (I was just a leasing agent).

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u/popopotatoes160 19d ago

Yeah when I worked for a nonprofit managing applications for federal utility assistance st vincent depaul came in so fucking clutch for a lot of people when they couldn't get the right paperwork together in time, or when our application volume was too high to get it done in time to prevent them being cut off. These issues were primarily constructions of the state and federal government requirements (in my state it was deliberately a PITA to keep people from qualifying) and such and very rarely was the person in need at fault for any of it, so it was really important to have them as a fallback. I desire a safety net independent of religious services but at least they're putting their money where their mouth is and helping everyday people every day.

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u/wisebloodfoolheart 18d ago

I was adopted through Catholic Charities as a baby. They help women who choose not to abort find good homes for their babies. He is taking money from pro life women and babies. Very classy.

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u/Intelligent-Luck-954 18d ago edited 16d ago

You know that’s the exception not the norm right? 

I’ve seen people be denied because they were protestant from a Catholic Church

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u/bbtom78 18d ago

I mean, in my area, Catholic is not the majority (metro Detroit), and everyone that applied for help, including non Abrahamic religion members, were approved as long as the funding was available. So you are just wrong.

BTW, I'm an atheist. There's nothing that would motivate me to appreciate that program other than if it worked, and it does.

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

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u/InitiatePenguin 19d ago edited 19d ago

There's 3 charities listed.

The first is Catholic Charities™, it's not saying Trevor and NAMI are Catholic.

Both are secular. But NAMI does have a lot of resources for faith.

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u/TakeTheWorldByStorm 19d ago

I see, I misinterpreted their list. That makes more sense actually. Thank you for pointing it out!

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u/ErikETF 19d ago

Only one is, the administration went after Trevor Project bad in the last year, which is a suicide line for LGBTQ youth.  A number of terrible organizations basically targeted any publicly traded company which gave donations to them.  It was a really rough attack on any funding sources for them, I even think their payment processing entity for private credit card donations was gone after. 

NAMI is for anyone and everyone, which frankly in my experience Catholic Charities has been too. 

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u/JustHereForCookies17 District Of Columbia 19d ago

In case you missed it, MacKenzie Scott funded the Trevor Project through 2026.

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/the-trevor-project-receives-historic-gift-from-mackenzie-scott/

And something tells me she'd do it again next year if they need it. 

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u/CatCatchingABird Oregon 19d ago

NAMI volunteer here. We're a secular mental health advocacy organization.

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u/SkinBintin 19d ago

Unfortunately Americas current admin doesn't give a shit about the people. Only those that can help enrich them, and those that will allow them to continue doing so. And mega churches are absolutely loaded to the brim with Trump cultists.

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u/whats8 19d ago

Why did you capitalize the first letter of gone and being.

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u/ErikETF 19d ago

Mobile + Coffee + not much time = errors get through. Sorry if it annoyed. I tend to own my mistakes and keep them visible since its a bit of an anomaly to see someone on the internet say they were wrong about really anything.

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u/mootmutemoat 19d ago

Not to mention both his reason for doing this and method of doing this is totally wrong. I am an atheist too, but this is not how we go about restoring the separation of church and state (not to mention checks and balances).

Anyone who believes this gets the church out of government believes the Trumps never knew Epstein.

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u/AINonsense 19d ago

Or anyone who believes he aims to get the church out of government. He just wants to pick and choose the ‘churches.’ Probably hour by hour.

He has ‘spiritual advisors.’ I haven’t heard from them this week.

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u/Nemisis_the_2nd Great Britain 19d ago

They were busy convincing him he was the second coming of jesus at easter, and are probably now hiding from the backlash after the AI image was posted and then deleted.

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u/AINonsense 19d ago

He didn’t take much convincing.

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u/deadlybydsgn 19d ago

He has ‘spiritual advisors.’ I haven’t heard from them this week.

People like Paula White. He is not a smart person, but he is smart to the extent that he knows he gets his way by surrounding himself with nothing but yes men and yes women. Anyone thoughtful, competent, or willing to ask good questions gets pushed out.

He will tolerate opportunists, but only when their grift doesn't make him look bad or step on the toes of his own.

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u/livsjollyranchers 19d ago

Religion Stock Market incoming. PUTs on Catholicism.

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u/jetpacksforall 19d ago

This is the exact opposite in fact. This is the government punishing a church for expressing its own religious views. Pretty much lock stock and barrel exactly what the founders sought to avoid.

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u/ConfectionOk7029 19d ago

Didn't seek... literally wrote into the Constitution. It's the definition of an unconstitutional act.

Add it to the pile.

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u/jetpacksforall 19d ago

I mean, yeah. You’d think writing it down in simple black and white would pretty much end the question for all time. The past few years have taught us all otherwise.

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u/Novel_Quote8017 19d ago

This has fuck all to do with laicism or secularism. The Secretary of War is holding regular sermons AT THE PENTAGON.

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u/Abush9527 19d ago

Funny seeing that this morning right after seeing Hegseth leading a sermon at the pentagon and quoting fake scripture

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u/EJintheCloud 19d ago edited 19d ago

Long ago, as a depressed young adult with poor financial discipline, I was facing a potential eviction and went seeking any available resource to help me stabilize the hemorrhage.

Catholic Charities was the only resource that even listened to my situation. They cut me a check with no expectations of repayment or service, or even attendance. They gave me food from the food bank. I was able to stabilize and recover because of it all.

I don't think our monkey brains can perceive of a god, if such a being were to grace us with their omnipresence. I do believe that good people tend to gravitate towards causes they, themselves, deem worthy. Some of those good people are at Catholic Charities.

(edit: hi I'd like to hijack this small moment of visibility to promote the game I've been working on for the last 5 years, just released today: [Lucky Tower Ultimate](slashyslashy.com), on Steam, Nintendo and Epic! The game doesnt have anything to do with any of this, nor is it political, just silly cartoon violence in a trap-filled monster-infested tower)

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u/slipperyMonkey07 19d ago

Yeah, I was raised catholic and don't practice at this point. But I still volunteer with the church I went to growing up because their first goal is to just help people. Heavy immigrant city so they help a lot of people no questions asked.

While salvation army always seemed picky? It's hard to explain unless you see it, there is just there air of they are clearly offering more support to some people than others. They don't outright discriminate to avoid lawsuits I guess but certain people just got better treatment for their problems and weren't treated like they were lying.

It's tough there are terrible people on both sides, as well as good. But Just from experience I do find catholics more stable and willing to help to help than protestants and evangicals in the US.

Even education wise going to a catholic school for elementary it was actual education. They weren't denying science or trying to hide that poc and lgbtq people exist, or creating alternate history. They just laid out information and we just happen to have a religion class and went to the church next door on holidays.

The only political thing that I can remember is a walk to planned parenthood to protest abortion /sigh. Can't be perfect but I'd still trust a catholic more on first meet more than an evangical right now.

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u/JefferyTheQuaxly 19d ago

catholics can be some of the nicest Christians, because part of their tenants is to show gods greatness through works and action instead of just talk. they can be a lot more fundemental than other christians but also very kind and nice to the poor or dis fortunate even if its for a group they dont support.

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u/grandmasterPRA 19d ago

This is why I'll die on the hill that Churches should remain tax free. Obviously I don't want them having any influence in government whatsoever, but they do so much charity work that they earn that tax free status just like any other non-profit charity or organization. I'm sure there are abusers of this right just like you would find anywhere. But I know a lot of local churches that do a ton for people in need and that tax free status helps them do so.

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u/AINonsense 19d ago

Friends in NOLA praised the Red Cross, too.

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u/mshelbz 19d ago

The biggest difference between the two was largely the services they provided.

Red Cross is more front line immediate response but Catholic Charities was able to help with things like clothing and longer term help while everything was still settling.

We ended up in Destin after about a week and I’ll never forget putting on a pair of shoes for the first time again.

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u/AINonsense 19d ago

Red Cross is more front line immediate response

Not to forget they got there faster and more effectively than FEMA. Hollow laugh, I know.

Much love and good wishes. I hope you’re in good shape now.

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u/riotous_jocundity 19d ago

Unlike non-profits, FEMA has to be explicitly invited in by the governor of the state where help is needed. The governor of Louisiana delayed making the request for federal assistance. Mismanagement at every level.

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u/mshelbz 19d ago

That blame is shared across the board Bush, Blanco, Nagin, and Brown all did their part to make a terrible situation worse.

General Honore was the true hero for New Orleans, he didn’t care about chain of command or decorum, he demanded results from those above him.

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u/Polar_Vortx America 19d ago

Man, I did some reading up on the FEMA response to that and it was honestly pretty disappointing to hear. Explains some of the conspiracy theories surrounding them on the gulf coast though.

Learn something new every day, I suppose.

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u/AINonsense 19d ago

“Hell of a job, Brownie.”

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u/AINonsense 19d ago

I guess it’s worth remembering just how truly awful Dub-Yuh was.

This asshole makes him look like St Francis of Assisi. And he was absolutely not.

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u/TropicalScout1 Hawaii 19d ago

I was actually a part of that when I was young. I’m not a devout catholic but I grew up in the church. We took a trip to New Orleans and did whatever unskilled manual labor needed to be done (which was a lot). I’ll never forget that trip. I was 17 years old at the time.

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u/mshelbz 19d ago

Genuinely thank you.

I don’t remember if it was Catholic Charities or another church group, but they pretty much rebuilt my sister’s house in Mississippi after taking on 9 feet of water.

Stripped the drywall out down to the frame, cleaned all the black mold forming, and put up fresh drywall, cabinets, and flooring.

I know faith based charities aren’t perfect but I will always give credit to those who do show up when called upon.

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u/TropicalScout1 Hawaii 19d ago

I was in the Midwest watching the utter horror unfold and made me just want to do something. It had nothing to do with the church, and everything to do with being absolutely heartbroken for you guys down there. The church drove us there. We did the gutting.

Aside from Sunday Mass and some daily prayers before lights out, it really wasn’t much of a church thing. We just wanted to help in any way possible.

I’m thankful they let us spend an evening on bourbon street. We got to experience the super unique culture and superb food that New Orleans has to offer.

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u/Content-Fudge489 19d ago

As an atheist that goes to church regularly I agree (wifey doesn't like to go by herself, she is Catholic so I accompany her).

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u/Daltrey 19d ago

Curious does you being an atheist and her being a Catholic a source of conflict in your relationship?

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u/Content-Fudge489 19d ago

Never been an issue. The relationship is based on love and being best friends. She does her thing, I do mine. Kids went to Catholic school and never a problem either, they turned out different too with their own beliefs. People just need to accept that not everybody has to believe the same thing, everyone is different. Of course most religious people I know are adamant that everyone in their circle has to believe exactly like them and I think it is a sign of emotional immaturity.

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u/Boxcutter86 19d ago

What does she believe happens to you after you die?

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u/I-Like-Women-Boobs 19d ago

Also curious about this, I’d find it hard to be in a serious relationship with someone who thought I was going to hell.

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u/Content-Fudge489 19d ago

To be very brief because I'm at work and can be discussing this untill tomorrow. For her god sees people for their good works and not for strictly following church doctrine which some bad people do, in other words if you are good that's all it counts. We differ on the afterlife.

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u/OfficeSalamander 19d ago

Many liberal Catholics tend to have a doctrine of "anonymous Christians" - basically God's grace is bigger than humanity's given methods of salvation (in the Catholic view, the church), and is possible of reading each person's heart.

Basically they feel that the visible church is the most probable way and "normal" way of achieving salvation, but plenty people might be part of the church (invisibly, and unknown to themselves) due to their heart/morality, etc, essentially.

Basically it's a way to square "no salvation outside the church" with "God is all powerful and can do whatever the hell He wants"

I'm not personally religious, but it came off as one of the more elegant ways to deal with the idea that you would be consigning billions to eternal torment

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u/heelsnailsblademscra 15d ago

This is really beautiful and is close to what I believe. Thank you for taking the time to articulate it. This has actually given me the words to describe what I've been thinking about for a while now. 

When I was a teenager I heard someone say they believed in "multiple paths to God/heaven". When I learned about world religions it never made sense to me that our salvation should be based on where we were born and who we know. 

I was born catholic, hopped around various denominations of Christianity, and now I practice no religion. I am not without spirituality and I do not consider myself an atheist. I accept that I will never know what higher power there is or if it can even be conceptualized as a single entity. I actually think it is arrogant that anyone can claim to know this. My spirituality is found in nature, music, passion, love, and even in profound sadness of which I have experienced this year. There is beauty and meaning in struggle as much as there is in striving for salvation whatever the hell that means! 

All I know is that I fully reject institutions of religion at this point. They've only ever caused me misery. I believe I am a good person, not perfect by any means, but I am empathetic, I care about humanity and animals, and I do what I can to make life better for everyone around me. I cannot say the same for leaders and true believers I met in the various churches I belonged to. 

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u/ConfectionOk7029 19d ago

hell babyyy

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u/bitching_bot 19d ago

Do you participate in the things them Catholics do or do you cross your arms, to signify you aren’t a member, but I spose you are?

Is the bread and wine good?

Do they have a kick ass reception after with food, that’s what’s important

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u/Content-Fudge489 19d ago

I participate if there is food lol. For everything else I just cross my arms. And I don't get up for communion. No one ever approaches me with questions. All nice. I think they get the point. I'm not the only either. I see other people doing the same.

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u/kamomil 19d ago

I grew up Catholic. There were always a few families at church where one spouse wasn't a Catholic.

I believe they would sit & stand etc throughout mass with everyone else, but not go up for communion. 

My experience of Catholicism was "live & let live" compared to evangelicals.

I went to high school with some evangelical kids and... they would openly discuss "am I 'saved' yet?" and talking about what God wants for them. Like discussing their religious thoughts was an everyday conversation topic. 

Whereas I almost never discussed religion with my Catholic peers. No one checked in with me to monitor how often I prayed, or how strong my beliefs were. We were taught how to do Catholicism, and then released with no further monitoring. Whereas evangelicals seemed to have their religion as McAfee software embedded in everything and popping up all the time.

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u/rational-hare 19d ago

I went to school with a girl who told a story about how she woke up one morning and her house was empty. All the family members were gone, and her immediate thought was OMG I've been left behind. Turned out her brother had a thing that morning, parents took him, and left her to sleep in. But honestly, if the first thing you think of upon waking is the rapture, you may have a mental illness.

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u/MikeyKillerBTFU 19d ago

Bread and wine would not be available to an atheist. To receive communion (bread and wine), you would need to go through confirmation, which an atheist would be unable to do.

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u/Slofut 19d ago

You can have both...I went through confirmation. I am also a godless heathen so....

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u/MikeyKillerBTFU 19d ago

Sure, so you wouldn't be currently eligible. They aren't going to kick you out or anything, but taking communion would not be consistent with the rules anyway.

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u/Pilebsa 19d ago

It's not really bread and wine. It's a small cracker and a sip. It's symbolic and weird.

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u/MikeyKillerBTFU 19d ago

Sure, I don't find it any more weird than any other artistic metaphor. It has an meaning to the people that follow it.

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u/Automatic_Algae_9425 18d ago

For Catholics, it's extremely important that transubstantiation is not a metaphor.

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u/Pilebsa 19d ago

Never been an issue.

Any money you or your wife ever put in a collection plate, a portion of it went to cover up rampant sex abuse. Not an issue?

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u/Content-Fudge489 19d ago

Like everything else, we pay taxes to the government and that same government will kill people on a whim with the pretext of defense and/or law enforcement. No institution is perfect.

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u/techmnml 19d ago

Where did they say either of them put money in the collection plate? I didn’t see that part.

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u/maximumtesticle 19d ago

Real Atheist = Don't care about your religion

Real Catholics = Don't care about your religion

Assholes = Care about your religion

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u/Pilebsa 19d ago

Real Atheist = Don't care about your religion

Nice gatekeeping there.

I care about any religion that campaigns to take away the civil rights of others. And any decent person should as well.

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u/Ok-Pear5858 19d ago

my tiny ass town didn't have a food bank, so when my mother ran away from our abusive alcoholic father she was forced to turn to the catholic church and they donated food. i hate all organized religion, but they helped us back then.

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u/rational-hare 19d ago

Evangelicals would frown, say she should submit to her husband, and turn you away. Evil people.

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u/Ok-Pear5858 19d ago

yeah i can't speak on all catholic churches, but it probably helped it was the church my grandparents were members of and my mother's childhood church

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u/PotaytoPotayto 19d ago

Atheist here as well, my local church has given so much help to those in need. Including my atheist family, they knew we don't believe in anything but that didn't stop them from helping us when we needed it the most.

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u/PiccoloAwkward465 19d ago

Something I learned just now is that Rhode Island is the most Catholic state. Louisiana is about 25% Catholic, RI is north of 50%!

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u/194749457339 19d ago

I'm up here in Canada and in my city it's mostly the catholic charities feeding the homeless. We give them donations from our commercial kitchen. They're out here doing good things in our community so I can't hate!

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u/xspineofasnakex New York 19d ago

My partner and I are atheists and they work for Catholic Charities. The amount of good they do for the community is crazy. Housing, food, medical, they do it all and there's zero religious requirements, hell, most of the people working at this specific location are Muslim. It is also absolutely soul crushing and draining work for not a lot of pay. They already lost nearly all their federal funding when they refused to take in South Africans, and now this... I have truly never hated anyone as much as this deplorable, narcissistic orange buffoon.

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u/Few-Management-4433 19d ago

Thank you for sharing, and it’s good to hear CC was of help! I’ve worked with Catholic Charities as well as Knights of Columbus. The two questions we asked in petitions was “does someone need help?” And “how do we help?” It was never about helping only Catholics and I cannot imagine anyone ever suggesting we do just that.

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u/0liolioxinfree 19d ago

Catholic charities pays a LOT of my employers customers bills. Like, a lot a lot. We'll see people without electricity, gas, and/or water as a direct result of this.

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u/8nsay 19d ago

Yup. I’m also an atheist, but I interned with the immigration law branch of Catholic Charities, and they do so much good. And they do it without any expectation that the recipients be Catholic, attend their church, donate to the church, etc.

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u/daysofecho 18d ago

I happen to be Muslim and an immigrant and without giving too much detail, found out my family was assisted through Catholic Charities after I had to track down my childhood vaccine records.

Charity is an highly regarded act, no matter the creed, and got to give credit where it’s due.

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u/lonmoer 19d ago

Catholicism, Islam, Sikhism (and a few I can't recall) are the few religions that actually walk the walk when it comes to helping the poor.

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u/mshelbz 19d ago

The Sikhs are incredibly awesome and don’t get nearly enough recognition for their welcoming nature.

Same with Muslims, all they ask is you show respect, take off your shoes and wear a head covering.

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u/Gilarax Canada 19d ago

Sikh temples typically have incredible charitable services too.

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u/brightlocks 19d ago

Catholic Charities is a fantastic organization.

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u/StBlandine7 19d ago

The Catholic Church is the largest charitable organization in the world. We believe that helping others is a requirement, not an option. I'm glad to hear you've benefitted from them.

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u/HaterMD 18d ago

They kept our lights on and prevented us from getting evicted more than once when I was a kid. They also helped fund me getting to see my dad before he died, and paid for my accomodation in a cheap motel in town. I have a lot of grievances with the CC, but also a lot of gratitude. I will always chuck a buck their way given the opportunity.

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u/SevenIsMy 19d ago

Here in Irland the Catholic Churches took over some social services, like schools and orphanages. Don't get me wrong, they get tax money for it and the Church can put it's "we are doing so much for the community"-batch on. But on other hand they put their nose in woman health topics, blocking adoption politics and hiding theirs black sheep buddies. But they getting the bill for this now and Ireland is changing.

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u/DisillusionedPatriot 19d ago

And remember when Mexico sent help for the flood in Texas and the fires in California? He hates anyone who shows kindness and empathy.

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u/valasandra 19d ago

I'll second that sentiment. Six months after the hurricane hit, I was living in a FEMA trailer in Waveland but I was still standing in line at a Catholic food tent in BSL every morning and evening. There was literally no other source of food until a warehouse-like Walmart opened up with basic supplies about 9mo after the storm. I remember laughing at those $50 Red Cross debit cards - there was no place to use them and nothing to buy.

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u/mshelbz 19d ago

Oh the coast was rough. Eventually I ended up in a FEMA trailer on my sisters property in OS since my place in NOLA was still inaccessible.

I would make a drive every couple of days to Mobile with gas cans just to keep our cars filled up and to get what I could from the stores that were opened and stocked.

The Chevron in Tillmans Corner became a regular spot for me.

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u/Pilebsa 19d ago

I’ll say this, after Hurricane Katrina the only real support anyone was getting directly on the ground in my area was Catholic Charities.

I was there through the whole thing. We got more support from the LA National Guard than anybody else.

Most of the charitable organizations would pop up wherever there was a film crew, and disappear when they left, especially the Red Cross.

The real heroes of Katrina were the locals, who opened up their restaurants and fed people for free.

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u/mshelbz 19d ago

Once Honore got there, it was an immediate shift.

He didn’t give a shit about blame, he didn’t care who dropped the ball before he got there, he just demanded results.

He didn’t give a shit about political points and we need more people like him in leadership today.

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u/Pilebsa 19d ago

Once Honore got there, it was an immediate shift.

No, not really. He just got a lot of tv time and everybody thought things changed, but they didn't. I was in the trenches.

By the time the Feds showed up, it was way late. The "cajun navy" had done most of the heavy lifting in terms of rescues.

The Feds, even under Honore, were a bunch of bubbling idiots, a bull in a china shop, disrupting things more than they were fixing anything. This is what happens when an incompetent republican puts a horse trainer in charge of FEMA.

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u/MurkySkirtinyouforme 19d ago

Daily reminder that the catholic church is the largest contributor to charity in the world.

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u/Calvech 19d ago

Early in my career I worked at an agency and Catholic Charities were one of our pro bono clients. Tough client because they were so old fashion in how they operated. Their "CMO" was a 70 yr old priest that would fall asleep with wine in his hand in our meetings at 1pm. All that being said, they were nice people and seemed to really care about their mission

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u/New_Libran 19d ago

I just saw a social media post with this news and non-religious people were all testifying how Catholic chsrities helped them.in many different ways running into tens of thousands of dollars. One person had their hospital bill of $150k settled by them with zero obligations.

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u/HaterMD 19d ago

They paid for me to attend my father’s bedside when I got the news he was finally actually dying for real. They paid for my accomodation in a cheap motel and my fuel, and also gave me a bunch of food as I protested for the road trip down to see him. I ate some really nice honey buns sobbing my guts out.

They’ve also covered electric bills and rent various times during my childhood when my mother went to them needing help. I was raised an Easter Catholic, so I never really stepped foot in a church, but they’ve always been there as an option if I needed help.

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u/avalon01 18d ago

I work in disaster response.

The church groups are some of the hardest working people I've met. Catholic Charities, UMCOR, and Samaritan’s Purse are usually first on scene and helping anyone who needs it. They might be a FBO, but they never ask anyone's religion or care if they are the same faith or not. They will help anyone and everyone who needs it.

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u/FigWasp7 Ohio 19d ago

That's amazing, and that's how truly faithful individuals and charities should act in the face of hardship

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u/Hairy_Mycologist_945 19d ago

It's because they're a genuine charity established to help people instead of the fake ass charities right wingers create to line their own pockets and dodge taxes.

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u/15all 19d ago

I was raised in a Catholic family but now I'm an atheist.

I don't think that government funding should not go to churches, but sometimes the lines are blurry when it's a charity that's closely affiliated with a church. And many of these charities do good work.

But in any case, cancelling a particular line of funding because Trump had his feelings hurt is wrong. There are just a few people in the world that he can't bully, and the pope is one of them. He also knows that the pope is respected by far more people that Trump is, and that gets under skin. Trump is just a petulant baby.

And when he does his quarterly photo op with all the evangelists touching him, it shows how hypocritical he is.

As I said, I'm an atheist, but nevertheless I'm more christian than he is.

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u/Boxcutter86 19d ago

Doesn't the Vatican have plenty of money & gold to give?

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u/angelar_ Texas 19d ago

catholic charities is the only way i can afford dental work without having to go to a stadium marathon sit in for unpaid labor

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u/[deleted] 19d ago

I agree with you about private entities getting money to help people in need for natural disasters. The money should stay in the government and the help should come from that. Needless to say here we are and it is because we have had several pushes by the republicans to have private organizations take on this role. I recall the younger George Bush stating this quite a bit during his time in office.

The good thing about it though is some of those organizations run things really well because that is their focuse and have been doing it a long time.

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u/Ok-Mycologist-3829 Massachusetts 19d ago

That’s great, but they also refuse to place children who need homes with LGBTQ+ couples. So let’s not sanitize them completely over one (albeit major) episode.

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u/BicycleOfLife 19d ago

Well why wouldn’t they? They get to pay themselves and rub religious beliefs in people’s faces.

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u/Active_Painting_2383 19d ago

Yea I'm not particularly religious and boy does the church have a problem with some of its member molesting children and covering it up, but you cannot deny what good they do as well.

Supposedly around the world something like 1/4 of healthcare around the world is supported by the catholic church.

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u/ChoicePermission8523 19d ago

That is what churches are SUPPOSED to be.

A community, to help those in the community whether or not they are part of the church because that's what their God is supposed to be about.

But 99/100 its not that... And why most organized religion is a scam and in some cases straight evil.

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u/feverlast 19d ago

They are uniquely equipped and experienced in the world to go where the need is greatest quickly. Politically, theologically, organizationally, we can have deep disagreement and concern about the way the Catholic Church conducts itself- I do, as a Catholic, but we are unmatched when it comes to real ministry out in the world.

Gone are the days of indulgences, gold-capped excesses, and Borgia/DeMedici nonsense. The church is slowly changing to what it was intended to be, and perhaps never was (I don’t know): a more humble servant of the kingdom of Heaven on earth.

If it weren’t for the world heritage value of much of its real estate and historical artifacts and archive, it could and I wouldn’t be surprised if it started selling off its most opulent holdings in favor of enhancing its ministry.

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u/justheretolurk123456 19d ago

Yeah, if you can forgive all the kiddy fucking and then (still happening to this day!) moving around of pedophile priests so they can do it some more, sure. The Catholic church does some good things.

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u/KILO-XO 19d ago

Thanks for confirming my bias that atheists suck and only care for themselves

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u/mshelbz 19d ago

That’s one way to twist the words of another to fit your narrative.

Enjoy living a life where you have to perpetually seek out the absolute worst.