"The words "controversy" and "obsence opulence" have dogged the papacy since time immemorial.If it isn't the paedophile priest scandal; the matter of the Catholics whose gender denies them a shot at priesthood; the gays who are not recognised as worthy Catholics; the denial of the value of condoms in slowing the spread of the HIV/Aids virus, it is the dogmatic stance on birth control which has left many parents with children they can ill-afford.So why are we shocked that Pope Benedict's trip to Spain will cost between $72-million and $86-million, excluding his security?...Now, there will be those who are bound to accuse me of being too critical. They will come up with all sorts of excuses for this show of crass materialism in the face of escalating global poverty and a growing divide between the haves and the have-nots...But a closer look at the budget paints a picture of sheer opulence - a 200m-long stage, hundreds of water fountains, 20 giant screens and a giant metal tree at the aerodrome where the pope's final mass of the visit will be delivered.""... The pontiff's silence on a matter of expenditure of this magnitude in the face of so much suffering in the world not only goes against Christianity but also goes against his own views two years ago..."
"In his third encyclical, Pope Benedict reminded us that "charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine". ..."He bemoaned an economy that sought to promote profit as its exclusive goal and thus promoted a growing divide between the rich and the poor.He denounced the view that economics are free from the "influences of a moral character" and highlighted the growing claims to a "right to excess in the affluent societies, while food and water were lacking in certain underdeveloped regions".
Give everything you own to the poor, then criticize the cost of the Pope's trip.
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