Although he never called out the Mormon corporation itself, Wow his words are true, touching and smart.
http://usuncut.com/world/pope-francis-calls-for-ending-tax-exempt-status-of-churches-that-dont-help-the-needy/

His quote, "In an interview with a Portuguese Catholic broadcaster, the Pope discussed the need for Christians to fight the temptation of the ‘God of money’, into which many religious institutions often fall. He then called out those institutions that have opted to enter into the hospitality industry while exploiting a legal loophole to keep from paying taxes on their business enterprise operating under the guise of doing “God’s work.”


“Some religious orders say ‘No, now that the convent is empty we are going to make a hotel and we can have guests, and support ourselves that way, or make money.’ Well, if that is what you want to do, then pay taxes! A religious school is tax-exempt because it is religious, but if it is functioning as a hotel, then it should pay taxes just like its neighbor. Otherwise it is not fair business.”


So where would the Pope say LDS inc is as far as their landholdings, their malls, their banks/insurance companies, their ranches, farms, game reserves, publishing companies, etc...

Well, I suppose if up to Francis, LDS inc would lose it's tax exempt status.

I hate when the pointy hat is right but he's damn right, you know.

I don't hear him pontificating about ending tax exemptions for churches that help the needy using taxpayer dollars.

Yes, but he probably isn't aware of what happens with U.S. loopholes and the donating back & forth between non-profits.

the latest and most egregious is the arrangement made between the Red Cross and LDS, inc. in Haiti.

Red Cross builds houses in places no one lives, LDS, inc donates proceeds from "Meeting the Mormons" but now has a place to build temple???
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/red-cross-earthquake-haiti-where-did-the-money-go_n_1228334.html

http://www.redcross.org/news/article/Net-Proceeds-from-Meet-the-Mormons-Film-to-Support-Red-Cross

So basically the Red Cross built a "Nice Neighborhood" and paid for all of the infrastructure (sewage, roads, electricity) so the LDS inc could have a place to build another monstrosity.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2015 12:21AM by dydimus.

Why would he do that, Dave?

Why would ant sensible person?

And his religion is better than the morg with this issue!??

Catholic Community Services is much more likely to help you than the Morg and they dont care if you are Catholic. So, yes,I would say they are better. Also the pope is asking each European parish to take in a refugee family. The Morg is ignoring that issue.

Almost EVERYONE is better than the morg with this issue. Except perhaps Scientology. The Catholic church may have issues in this too, but I think he is right to call it out.

Also, the way he talks about "religious orders" and "convents" suggests to me that he's criticising these practices within his own church as well as outside.

I love this Pope. He's fearless about saying and doing the right things.

He just backed the Iran Deal. Catholics like Rick Santorum must be just...I don't know the word for it. He and like Catholics are not happy with this Pope, to say the least.

But it does show that Catholics are not anything like the automaton mormons who thoughtlessly raise their hands to sustain the leadership without once thinking about what might be their own opinion, if they've even allowed themselves to have one.

God bless this Pope, and may he have the power to *do* the good he speaks.

Human

http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/pope-francis-income-inequality-talk-pisses-conservatives

"Pope Francis will arrive in the United States next week, with stops planned in Washington, New York City, and Philadelphia. In the nation's capital, he will become the first pope to address a joint session of Congress."

This will be well worth watching.

+100

He's just the leader of another rich church.

And everyone rips on the Mormon church for not talking about their money, the catholic church is the same way. Google how much money the catholic church is worth and what do you get?

How Rich Is the Catholic Church?
Nobody really knows, because religious groups don’t need to follow regular accounting and disclosure rules.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/03/catholic_church_and_pope_francis_religious_institutions_are_exempted_from.html

The Catholic Church is the Biggest Financial Power on Earth
http://humansarefree.com/2012/03/christian-church-is-biggest-financial.html


How rich is the Vatican? So wealthy it can stumble across millions of euros just 'tucked away'
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/how-rich-vatican-so-wealthy-it-can-stumble-across-millions-euros-just-tucked-away-1478219


So lets not act like they are really any better then any other religion. It's all about money and power.

Stop talking as if Mormonism was just like any other religion in this. That's minimising its bad behaviour and letting it off the hook.

The Catholic church is a vast organisation, and in parts, very corrupt. But in other parts, not. There are plenty of Catholic organisations which genuinely help out people who need it and who don't cheat to do it. It is huge, inconsistent and full of contradictions.

Contrast this with the uniform, systemic, coercive siphoning of money from LDS members, including tracking of donations and witholding of core religious services, even eternal consequences, if a member falls behind on *compulsory* contributions; the uniform and systemic financial obscurity; the uniform and systemic witholding of assistance from members despite huge financial contributions in the past, the general reluctance to take part in charitable work unless their is a missionary angle.

The reason I keep repeating "uniform and systemic" is that that is the key thing here. What the Catholic church falls into at times through not being tough enough on corruption and not being committed enough to transparency, the LDS church does consistently, uniformly, systemically and as a matter of policy.

And you should maybe stop minimizing the bad behavior of the catholic church.

how many people have died because of that church?

You also said
"The Catholic church is a vast organisation, and in parts, very corrupt. But in other parts, not."

Sorry to tell you, but you can say the same for the church. I have seen some wards lead by people who thought they were doing the right thing. Who would bend over backwards to help out people who needed help. And I have also seen wards where they didn't care about the people at all. It was all about being in charge.

I was not defending the LDS church in the least bit, I hate it. But I dislike all religions. They are ALL about money and power over people in my opinion. That was my point. So don't jump all over me with your crap about letting Mormonism off the hook. I didn't say anything about Mormonism. I was just trying to do the opposite of you, which is trying to let Catholicism off the hook.

I am just pointing out that it's not like they are any better in my opinion. And it is my opinion which I am free to have. Just like you have yours.

I hope you'll forgive my earlier grumpiness.

I feel it's a bit black and white to say all religions are the same, and they're all about money and power.

My main problem with equating the LDS church with others is this business of compulsory "donations" which are monitored and disciplinary consequences if they aren't received. That is truly very, very unusual.

But the mormon church helps the needy more than any other church does. They spend the money to attract people into the mormon church, God's true church on the face of the Earth. After they join up with the true church, they have the opportunity to pay tithing and have godalmighty rain down blessings upon their heads. They will be much better off than if some church had just given them food and clothing and shelter.

It's like "give a man a fish..." You keep having to give him fish. Giving material things to the poor just makes it so you keep having to give them material things. Convert them to the truth, the only way God can really bless them because they have to pay tithing to get those blessings, and they're covered for life.

God only has so many blessings to go around. He's not going to waste them on non-tithe payers.

^^^This^^^

"fight the temptation of the ‘God of money’"

Pot calling the kettle black, especially historically. There isn't much excuse for the fact that Martin Luther had to blast Catholicism for the very same thing. Even so it still has no financial transparency either.

If you read the article, it's actually pretty clear that the "religious orders" he's talking about are Catholic ones. He talks about "convents", and in the bottom half of the article, it says this is "part of his continuing call for the Church to set an example and create change". The Catholic church, in other words. That's who he's talking to.

So the headline is slightly confusing. He's not calling out other religions, he's tackling the issues within his own church. He's not calling the kettle black - he's trying to do something about his own pot.

Parallels can of course be drawn, and much valuable insight may be gained therefrom.

Martin Luther "blasted" the Catholic chruch in the sixteenth century. What's amazing is that Mormonism attempts to recreate the medieval Church in the 21st Century!

Realizing that God himself didn't lead the Pope, the followers of JS never figured out that either 1) there is no God; or 2) at least if there is, He certainly doesn't "lead" authoritarian instutions by whispering in the ear of one exalted mortal. Instead, JS diagnosed the problem as: the reason God doesn't lead the Catholic Church is that God leads Me! not the Pope. And good, reformation Protestants bought it! Didn't they know what Protestants protested?!

Mormons make all the same errors Catholics made throughout history--Catholics tried the "speaking as a man" gambit too. It was as ridiculous for them as it is for Mormons, And for the same reasons. But will Mormons learn from the example of the Catholics--they're long, long, history? No. They're too arrogant. They've got to reinvent the wheel, while the rest of the world mocks them, saying, "Even the Catholics quit doing that 400 years ago!"

Many Catholic parishes are poor. The proportion of contributions is much lower than most churches. Though I am not a Catholic, I have witnessed much help given the poor and priests who devoted their lives to helping the less fortunate.

Ahhh but such blasphemy can spread! Maybe cojcolds really will be part of revelation. Perhaps when the pope is here he'll be shot in the head by a Danite and raise back up.

The best video about the pope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xDnxv6eFNg

The Roman Catholic Church is almost certainly the wealthiest organization in the world. In the United States alone, it is estimated that the Catholic Church has an operating budget of $170 billion.Dec 16, 2014

Are you kidding me Pope?

In my final analysis I would probably have to say the Catholic Church has done more harm than good in its 2000 years of existence, but Caritas, their social relief organisation, has stepped up to the refugee crisis in Austria and Hungary, hasn't cared that the majority of Syrian migrants are not Christian or Catholic, and has fed, clothed and kept 1000s safe when governments couldn't care less, and the UNHCR keeps shouting but does nothing. I don't see anyone in my old mission area stepping up to provide service either. In Germany, Munich is stretched beyond belief, you would think the local wards would show a little bit of compassion.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/16/2015 04:58PM by austrobrit.

If he's going to go after churches, he should likewise go after 501c3's that spend more than 2/3 of their budget on fundraising.

Thsoe that think churches are uncharitable should try looking at actual charities. They manage to be even less charitable (on a per-dollar-given basis) than even the LDS church in many cases.

Likewise, this Pope is chucking stones from a glass house. The Vatican is sitting on billions of dollars worth of money, yet nobody talks about liquidating any element of the Vatican to help the impoverished.

While he's at it, he should go after politicians and their outrageous pay too!

Let's hope these "religious orders" can help assimilate these refugees into a secular culture. Best wishes Europe.

There is one simple reason why the Catholic and LDS churches are more dangerous than most others - SPM (Special Privileges of Membership). The claim to have an absolute monopoly on the truth and exclusive possession of God. If any group claims this they can't help but abuse the power they give themselves. I'm not saying they are the only ones, but you usually don't hear Methodists telling Baptists they are going to hell because they belong to the wrong church.

The pope doesn't fool me at all. He is just trying to look good because looking bad or indifferent is costing his church members and the money they bring.

Catholicsndo believe they have thenfullneas of truth,but they accept baptism of other churches and believe that salvation is possible outside the church.They are much more accepting of other religions tha Mormons and fundie protestants.

I like to stop looking at leaders like the Pope in their organizational role. I think this Pope has tremendous positive social influence. I know he gets the microphone because he's the Pope, but I do think he has good things to say. You could completely take God and religion out of the mix and he just makes some good, humane sense. Still not signing up though....

For some reason I want to say:

Enjoy this pope while he lasts!!! He might be gone very suddenly !!!

I hope you are wrong about that. But I know what you mean.