I do not want to judge whether any church is a force for good or bad in the world (that would be off-topic), but a few thoughts:

  • In raw numbers, there are few philanthropists that rival the RCC. But the RCC is also one of the wealthiest organizations in the world when it comes to land ownership, sheer assets and contributions from the masses. So it does not take a lot for them to outcompete many smaller charities that dedicate a much larger share of their assets to a cause.

  • As @curious mentioned above, an overall judgment needs to take both the positives and the negatives into account. Any organization that is over a thousand years old is going to have a lot of skeletons in the closet, and some of those skeletons might be the very reason they have so much wealth to put to charitable causes today.

Finally, to me Benedict represents pretty much the hard core of the church. He pretty much embodied all the good and bad that the church stands for today. Anyone who strongly identifies with the late 20th / early 21st century RCC will have lots of admiration for the man, but at the same time, the values he stood for and the things he did are also one of the principal reasons why all the people that are leaving the church these days do so.

curious I could go on and on like this.

You left out their popularizing the "missionary position" for intercourse, denying millions the pleasure of reverse cowboy, regular cowboy, etc.

    curious All major religious denominations have a record of crimes. So do ideological atheists (millions of victims of communism). Therefore, pointing out past misdeeds of the Church is misplaced in the context of the pontificate of Benedict XVI and his earlier activities as a church dignitary. In my opinion - although I am an agnostic - he was one of the better popes, definitely better than the current Francis.

        Ines I grew up with Francisco

        Reading quickly and knowing, that you are from Spain, I read "I grew up with Franco" and I started counting how this is possible... 🤣 🤣 🤣

            Andrew Looking at that city near that large bay in central California and the sexual norms there, "I grew up with Francisco" can have a much different meaning than anything that pope Francis would approve of.

              curious

              curious I could go on and on like this.

              Yes, of course, as a big I institution had mistakes, and I said it in my first post, but, it seems that you are more nterested in read your own posts and little in read the posts of the others.

              And you can ask to those guessed millions of cristianized by sword, what was the option in a lot of places before the Catholic Church: Human sacrifices, slavery...

              Ask the millions of children rescued of mines.
              Ask the millions of women that have micro loans of Church to start their business.
              Ask the millions of people cared in Christian hospitals in areas where nobody has a single doctor.
              Ask the girls rescued of prostitution in bad areas of South America...

              Anyway, You will continue to be convinced of the evil of the Church as I am convinced of its greatness.

              curious There are actually very few organisations (if any at all) in the world that have more blood on their hands than the catholic church.

              I think every empire has much more blood and none so many people helped.

                    Andrew I grew up with Franco"

                    😂😂

                    My parents barely lived under his government.

                    Pope Francisco, I mean. However, General Franco' s first name was Francisco, too.

                      Andrew So do ideological atheists (millions of victims of communism)

                      Atheists do not go around killing people because they are not atheists. The ruthlessness and evil of Stalinism was not an anti religious crusade. The fact that communism opposed religion is irrelevant to their actions.

                          hanna_anders Atheists do not go around killing people because they are not atheists. The ruthlessness and evil of Stalinism was not an anti religious crusade. The fact that communism

                          And what was the action of exterminating all religious denominations in the USSR from the October Revolution until 1941??? What were the crimes against representatives and faithful of churches after the communists took power in all the countries of Central Europe after 1945?

                              hanna_anders The fact that communism opposed religion is irrelevant to their actions.

                              About 150.000 people were killed in Spain by communist government only because they were Catholics. Several thousand of nuns raped and tortured.

                              However, we are spoiling the thread.

                                  Ines but Catholic Church is by far, the biggest benefactor of the world.

                                  that may even be true, because the church is big, but just as big are the countless outrages they have done in the past and present in the name of god.

                                  Ines About 150.000 people were killed in Spain by communist government only because they were Catholics. Several thousand of nuns raped and tortured.

                                  right, because they were communists. and in general please do not equate atheists with communists, i am an atheist myself and as most people know anti-communist.

                                        Angelina Yes the reason was that they were comunists (and there are the same monsters like nacist), not that the were atheist.

                                          Andrew And what was the action of exterminating all religious denominations in the USSR from the October Revolution until 1941??? What were the crimes against representatives and faithful of churches after the communists took power in all the countries of Central Europe after 1945?

                                          this was to destroy a rival to the communist governments control over people. Atheism is NOT a religion, it isnt trying to destroy religion. All you are highlighting is the action of brutal governments and individuals.
                                          I'd also say that chrisitanity was never exterminated in the USSR, condisering how quickly it rose after the fall of communism. It merely went underground. Now, of course, we have the Russian orthodox church supporting Putin's attempts to destroy Ukraine. I know a lot of very devout christians, and a lot of atheists. I couldnt tell you which were more or less evil, but I cant find a single instance in history where atheists killed religious poeple just becaise they were atheists.

                                            Please...
                                            I said it some posts ago...

                                            Stop.

                                            Ines Catholic Church is by far, the biggest benefactor of the world.

                                            Ines.

                                            While you and I are far apart in many of our deep beliefs, I find myself in strong agreement to the vast majority of your statements. However, the one I quoted above finally gives me pause for thought. Perhaps you might be interested in the link I attach below.

                                            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZRcYaAYWg4&t=127s

                                            I know English isn't your first language but there was a famous debated televised some years ago in London that is on YouTube and is well worth a watch. Not only because of the oratory, but also it illustrates the skill of the four debaters. And the topic "The Catholic Church is a Force for Good in the World" is very germane to your statement. As a matter of fact, this particular debate sent ripples throughout the entire Catholic Church, not least because there were more than a few Catholics in the audience. Of particular note is a pole of the audience done immediately before and after the debate.

                                            I do not wish to be argumentative, particularly with someone I admire so I won't write any more on this topic.

                                                i think we should get back to the original topic and even if this is only literally the original topic now, but what did you get for christmas? 🙂

                                                Foxies

                                                It is interesting, thanks.
                                                I know that hierarchy makes a lot of bad things, but at the end, every one of us is the Church.
                                                I activated the subtitles and I understood perfectly.
                                                😊

                                                  2 months later
                                                  9 months later

                                                  Black Friday today (wonder how many countries have Black Friday since not everybody celebrates Thanksgiving).

                                                  Anyway, for the girl who has (almost) everything I recommend one of these Bird Buddie smart bird feeders. They come equipped with their own camera for photos and streaming of your feathered visitors. The one with the solar roof is eco-friendly and a steal at about 200 euros. I'm going to install one in my Dad's yard.

                                                  https://mybirdbuddy.com/shop/