Marty’s photo of the day #3093: I took today’s Catholic Church photo in Madrid, Spain. I thought of it when I read that a new wave of rape and child abuse cases are about to hit the church. Apparently, when cover-ups fail, bankruptcy is one of the solutions. How can Catholic churches declare bankruptcy while they continue to stay in business, hoarding all their gold and valuables? Does God need—or care about—precious stones and metals for some reason? No church possessions should be off-limits from being used to compensate people whose lives were destroyed by pedophile priests!
As I wrote in the Europe chapter of my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents:
“The Catholic Church’s long history of wealth and power was on display wherever I looked. Whether it was a store selling silver scepters, golden chalices, and precious metal accessories for the well-dressed priest or the extreme opulence in the cathedrals, all the gold and silver I’d seen in my life up to that point would be a mere speck compared to what I saw in a single afternoon in Madrid.”