Pope Says: End Life Sentences; Progressive Prison Views

[sergio]

http://nr.news-republic.com/Web/ArticleWeb.aspx?regionid=4&articleid=30789747

 

[Davidglen77]

How about people stop commiting murder, rape and all other heinous crimes that condemn those left behind to a life sentence of deep sorrow and unmeasurable trauma. Life sentences don't repair the actual damage however they do give the victims and their families a sense of justice being served and closure which is sometimes all they have left to hope for. I have an idea - how about the catholic church and all of the cavemen that run the vatican sell off their riches in gold and real estate holdings to finance the rehabilitation of all criminals worldwide? If they are all so much in favor of "social justice".....well doesn't charity begin at home?? These guys including this pope are some of the BIGGEST hypocrites on this earth!

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

If the Church actually did what Christ said it should do then we'd have a very different world.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

If the Church actually did what Christ said it should do then we'd have a very different world.

If there were no Church(es) we'd have a very different world (a far better one).

 

[sergio]

Davidglen, I agree with the first part - that life sentences can be appropriate for grave crimes but the second part is not fair. The Catholic Church is probably the world's largest charity organization - there are Catholic schools, hospitals, orphanages and countless social welfare agencies all over the world. Lots of nuns and priests who work for no more than their basic needs. Remove these organizations and a lot of people would suffer. Selling off Church assets would remove the source of funding for the Church's work. The Vatican itself, the museum and the treasures of Saint Peter's are all accessible to the public and are an important part of Italian and world patrimony. There are hypocrites everywhere but that does not negate the good that is done by good people who must coexist in a world full of all sorts of people. You can't be fair and paint with such a broad brush.

 

[sergio]

If there were no Church(es) we'd have a very different world (a far better one).

How about mosques and synagogues?

 

[Rich One]

Davidglen, I agree with the first part - that life sentences can be appropriate for grave crimes but the second part is not fair. The Catholic Church is probably the world's largest charity organization - there are Catholic schools, hospitals, orphanages and countless social welfare agencies all over the world. Lots of nuns and priests who work for no more than their basic needs. Remove these organizations and a lot of people would suffer. Selling off Church assets would remove the source of funding for the Church's work. The Vatican itself, the museum and the treasures of Saint Peter's are all accessible to the public and are an important part of Italian and world patrimony. There are hypocrites everywhere but that does not negate the good that is done by good people who must coexist in a world full of all sorts of people. You can't be fair and paint with such a broad brush.

the CHURCH only distributes funds generated by donations similarly to the Red Cross , except the Vatican has vast holdings of rental property income and other financial investments..!! If the Vatican would sell ONE Michel Angelo to a private museum (would still be seen by everyone) .... and with the proceeds could lavishly house ALL the illegal immigrants arrived in boats to Lampedusa Island..!!

 

[sergio]

RichOne I don't understand your comment. The Catholic Church runs its own institutions.

As for selling works of art, breaking up the Vatican Museum collection and selling off sculpture and other parts of the Vatican / Italian patrimony, I don't think the idea would be very well received by the art world. The buyers would most likely be extremely rich individuals, not museums, who would keep it to themselves. It would also just perpetuate the worst extremes of a capitalist system that allows a handful of individuals (not a non profit institution) to have such great wealth.

 

[Rich One]

RichOne I don't understand your comment. The Catholic Church runs its own institutions.

As for selling works of art, breaking up the Vatican Museum collection and selling off sculpture and other parts of the Vatican / Italian patrimony, I don't think the idea would be very well received by the art world. The buyers would most likely be extremely rich individuals, not museums, who would keep it to themselves. It would also just perpetuate the worst extremes of a capitalist system that allows a handful of individuals (not a non profit institution) to have such great wealth.

Who can do futurology ? IF one piece of Art would be purchased by Singer and kept under lock would be terrible loss jajjaaj
However if it was auctioned and the participants could only be Major Public Museums No Loss..!!

The Church runs its own institutions We Agree on that

 

[sergio]

I believe the idea of selling off the art treasures and other Church property was put forth in the novel Shoes of the Fisherman. In theory it sounds good but it would be a one off gesture that would deprive the Church of long term revenues that are used to maintain the infrastructure which includes charitable works. I would also question the wisdom of breaking up an historic cultural repository that is well preserved and totally accessible to the public. An integral part of the Italian patrimony. I doubt too that the art world would give its blessing to the sale of these art works, especially those that are an integral part of Saint Peter's Basilica. It's not as though the Catholic Church and its administrators are living like Donald Trump. I am curious as to why nothing is said about the wealth acquired by Islamic and other religious institutions and how it could be used.