As usual the Pope does the only thing he does well pray

[doggie]

of course he can't send money or help only prayers.

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI says he is praying for the victims of recent flooding in Thailand and Italy.

Benedict began his greetings to pilgrims in St. Peter's Square on Sunday by recalling the devastation caused by heavy rains in the two countries. Thailand's worst flooding in half a century has claimed 381 lives over the last three months. In Italy, floods and mudslides last week devastated coastal areas of Liguria and Tuscany and killed nine people.

The pope says he wants to express his closeness to those suffering because of the flooding and assure them of his prayers.

[Effie]

The Pope is a surviving dinosaur.

[CanticleoftheTurning]

Sometimes prayer is the best we have to offer, as meaningless as it sounds to some people.

Anyway, the good news is that there are numerous charities already at work in various disaster and emergency zones. CRS is one efficient charity (I forget the efficiency rate), and no doubt there are others equally as efficient with their donated money for crises like these.

[doggie]

Sometimes prayer is the best we have to offer, as meaningless as it sounds to some people.

Anyway, the good news is that there are numerous charities already at work in various disaster and emergency zones. CRS is one efficient charity (I forget the efficiency rate), and no doubt there are others equally as efficient with their donated money for crises like these.

thats true but the pope has far more power then that. How often have we head of the Vatican helping others?

[theologygeek]

of course he can't send money or help only prayers.

With all the flaws that the Catholic Church has, not being charitable isn't one of them.

[theologygeek]

Sometimes prayer is the best we have to offer, as meaningless as it sounds to some people.

Anyway, the good news is that there are numerous charities already at work in various disaster and emergency zones. CRS is one efficient charity (I forget the efficiency rate), and no doubt there are others equally as efficient with their donated money for crises like these.

I agree. Catholic Relief Services and the Thailand Catholic Church are doing a lot to help. The bishops in Thailand asked for prayer. Some people find great comfort in prayer. I'm one of them.

[snarkykitty]

As the religious figurehead, I doubt that he has any *real* bureaucratic power. Administrative decisions aren't really made at the top. He may make high-level budget decisions, like overall approval, but I doubt that the Pope is signing checks to "The Country of Thailand". It's likely that different entities, like CRS, would be working hand-in-hand with local authorities, who would know what and where things are needed.

It's like the President of the US - he might sign off on disaster relief funds, but he isn't the one writing the actual checks or making calls to allocate specific resources and personnel.

So, yeah, a statement of prayer is appropriate.

[1004srs]

And what exactly have any of the people criticizing done specifically to help Thiland and Italy?

Catholic Charities is huge. Nearly 90 cents of every dollar donated to Catholic Charities agencies goes directly to programs and services.

Only 3% of CRSs monies are used for administration.

If you want to send your kids to Catholic School and can't afford it, many times the Catholic Education Foundation will assist. OUr school received over $67K in scholarships this year. That means over 1/2 of our school got scholarships to attend.

[CanadianHippie]

With all the flaws that the Catholic Church has, not being charitable isn't one of them.

That, and they tend to not stick requirements on their charity in situations like this either. It's the one thing I can't criticize about them.

[theologygeek]

And what exactly have any of the people criticizing done specifically to help Thiland and Italy?

Catholic Charities is huge. Nearly 90 cents of every dollar donated to Catholic Charities agencies goes directly to programs and services.

Only 3% of CRSs monies are used for administration.

If you want to send your kids to Catholic School and can't afford it, many times the Catholic Education Foundation will assist. OUr school received over $67K in scholarships this year. That means over 1/2 of our school got scholarships to attend.

They gave 90 million dollars to Haiti. That's 10 million less than the US pledged. CRS is awesome. They are one of the best out there.

[theologygeek]

That, and they tend to not stick requirements on their charity in situations like this either. It's the one thing I can't criticize about them.

True. They help regardless of race, religion, etc. They take care of AIDS patients. They help prostitutes, gang members, drug addicts, Protestants, atheists. I remember reading how they go into brothels around the world to help get the children of prostitutes into school. I'd like to see fundies help like that.