The Vatican Empire and Prop 8

President George W. Bush meets with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican June 9, 2007. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (VATICAN)

I feel that people are focusing too much attention and anger towards the Mormons. We must remember the power of the Catholic Church. And we must remember that it was the current Archbishop of San Francisco, George Niederauer, former Catholic bishop of Salt Lake City, who rallied the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to join forces and campaign in favor of Prop 8. He started the ball rolling.

The Catholic Church is powerful and wealthy. The Church is very secretive about its wealth. Why? Well, would you keep filling your parish's envelopes if you knew how wealthy the Church was?

(The Catholic people are a different story. Many Catholics are working class and poor. I think of the Catholic people and the Catholic Church/Government as different entities. I was one of those Catholics at one time. Very devoted to Jesus' philosophy of love thy neighbor -- that's where I learned how to be a progressive, a liberal, a radical y'all!)

In the bowels of the Vatican are art treasures worth ... well, it's hard to evaluate ... there's so much of it and so much of it is worth millions. And that's just the art ... that's not counting the real estate they own all over the world -- and I'm NOT talking about the property that churches, rectories, convents, and schools are built on. No. I mean hard cash type real estate. A bulging stock portfolio. (Although not worth as much as it used to be worth.) Companies that they own. Huge deposits in foreign banks.

If you can, get a hold of a book called The Vatican Empire by Nino Lo Bello, a former Rome correspondent for Business Week.

Focus some of your disagreement towards the Catholic Church ... share the wealth ... don't hog all that energy for only the Mormons. Start boycotting things related to the Catholic Church.

Does the Church really need your money?

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