Enjoyed seeing the Pope but did it really cost us £7m ?

sirmarcus

Smells iffy again ??:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

suited-aces

Feel free to delve through our posting history sirmarcus. Mumps is here since nov 08 with hundreds of posts, I'm here since dec 09 with almost 1000, and as far as I'm aware we have never crossed paths before. You may be sad enough to go to that sort of an effort with an AE, but I certainly am not

unholyangel

mumps wrote: »

As a Catholic and a tax payer can I just ask if anyone knows how much of my taxes gets spent on other religions e.g. Church of England? How much gets spent on things I would rather not support e.g. abortion? How much gets spent on security for the Royal family? How much will Prince William's wedding cost us?

I guess when it comes to taxes we all have our own priorities, the last Papal visit was nearly 30 years ago I think so if you divde the £7m by 30 the annual figure seems more reasonable.

But he didnt visit every year for 30 years did he? Although i see your point that its not like it happens every year @ 7mill.

As for abortion, i'm not catholic but i dont believe in it personally. However, i respect that everyone has the right to make their own choice and think it should be available. I just dont like when people use it (or the morning after pill) as a form of contraception. But would you rather pay for the morning after pill/abortion or (potentially) pay for 18 years for benefit money (child care costs, tax credits, health care benefits etc)?

I dont think the uproar is because we spent 7mill on a visit by the pope. I think its because we spent 7 mill on a visit by a figurehead who's denomination has vast resources (wealth) themselves.

As for whoever said do you invite people to your house then bill them, as i said in another post........no. But nor do i pay their travelling expenses or for everything they buy while visiting. Furthermore, the PM doesnt "own" the UK.

Regardless, i think there are far more important things to be worried/outraged about than this.

aheaton46

mumps wrote: »

As a Catholic and a tax payer can I just ask if anyone knows how much of my taxes gets spent on other religions e.g. Church of England?

It's a common mistake to assume that the Church of England gets funding from the government. It doesn't, it gets funded from members giving, investment income etc.

(Some church buildings may receive money from English Heritage, but they have to apply for it and get it on merit, just like any other listed building.)

bargainbetty

Personally, I resent the vast sums spent on the Papal visit because he is not a Head of State. He is a religious leader, and we do not pay for other religiousl leaders to make such vast 'state' visits.

It also disgusts me that many of the events the Pope made appearances at were fee-paying. People had to buy tickets to see him. The Head of the wealthiest church on Earth charged people to see/hear him preach, and had the nerve to expect the UK taxpayer to pay for his security too.

Either come as a statesman and bless your parishoners for free, or charge venue entry and call it a tour. As an atheist, I find it offensive that any religious leader is paid for by the state, when most of the churches are quite capable of supporting themselves.

For completion, I don't think we should be paying for the Royal wedding either, and I don't like paying £20 per year for 20 years on my London-based council taxes to cover the Olympics either, since I'm not being given a free ticket. I quite like the Queen though - she is pretty decent value for money on the tourist market.

sirmarcus

bargainbetty wrote: »

Personally, I resent the vast sums spent on the Papal visit because he is not a Head of State. He is a religious leader, and we do not pay for other religiousl leaders to make such vast 'state' visits.

It also disgusts me that many of the events the Pope made appearances at were fee-paying. People had to buy tickets to see him. The Head of the wealthiest church on Earth charged people to see/hear him preach, and had the nerve to expect the UK taxpayer to pay for his security too.

Either come as a statesman and bless your parishoners for free, or charge venue entry and call it a tour. As an atheist, I find it offensive that any religious leader is paid for by the state, when most of the churches are quite capable of supporting themselves.

For completion, I don't think we should be paying for the Royal wedding either, and I don't like paying £20 per year for 20 years on my London-based council taxes to cover the Olympics either, since I'm not being given a free ticket. I quite like the Queen though - she is pretty decent value for money on the tourist market.

Be careful...you may find your post is deemed as abusive by one of the parishioners and it is subsequently deleted by the cleaners !:)

Lets await for a judgement.:rotfl:

stephenliverpool1

stephenliverpool1 wrote: »

Thanks for the above postings.

I have spoken to my mate and he has given me some more internet stuff on the Pope's visit which tends to support his statement. The bbc website posting was amongst them.

He has also found a poll on MSE at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3079316 that I have just completed.

I am disappointed that the visit cost over £7m and have completed the poll to reflect that but I still enjoyed my day although it has been tainted by this.

Out of interest I have just tryed to look at the poll at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3079316 to look for updates but cant find it. I have also had a look on the whole of Discussions board for it but cant find nothing. It appears to have disppeared or been deleted.

Any ideas as to why or wat to do as it is making my previous post look misleading ?

Andy_L

He's a head of state so we have to pick up (some of) the costs of a state visit.

In addition he's an extremly important chap to the world wide Catholic community (about 17% of the world according to Wiki). Had we not provided the full "pomp & circumstance" tour how would that have affected our international relations with those people, especially amongy the Catholic-heavy Central/South American emerging economies we're trying to cosy-up to?

sirmarcus

stephenliverpool1 wrote: »

Out of interest I have just tryed to look at the poll at https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3079316 to look for updates but cant find it. I have also had a look on the whole of Discussions board for it but cant find nothing.

Reckon one of the parishioners has complained and the cleaners have put it under the carpet;):).

mumps

aheaton46 wrote: »

It's a common mistake to assume that the Church of England gets funding from the government. It doesn't, it gets funded from members giving, investment income etc.

(Some church buildings may receive money from English Heritage, but they have to apply for it and get it on merit, just like any other listed building.)

Thankskfor the information, as a follow on how much, if anything, does security for the Archbishop of Canterbury cost? Actually I know it must cost something as I met him at a local event and there was alot of policing, roads closed, parking suspended.