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Title: Render unto Rome
Subtitle: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church
Author: Jason Berry
Narrator: Jason Berry
Format: Unabridged
Length: 18 hrs and 2 mins
Language: English
Release date: 06-07-11
Publisher: Random House Audio
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 49 votes
Genres: Religion & Spirituality, Christianity
Publisher's Summary:
An investigation of epic finanical intrigue, Render unto Rome exposes the secrecy and deceit that run counter to the values of the Catholic Church.
The Sunday collection in every Catholic church throughout the world is as familiar a part of the Mass as the homily and even Communion. There is no doubt that, historically, the Catholic Church has been one of the great engines of charity in history. But once a dollar is dropped in that basket, where does it go? How are weekly cash contributions that can amount to tens of thousands of dollars accounted for? Where does the money go when a diocese sells a church property for tens of millions of dollars? And what happens when hundreds of millions of dollars are turned over to officials at the highest ranks, no questions asked, for their discretionary use?
The Roman Catholic Church is the largest organization in the world. The Vatican has never revealed its net worth, but the value of its works of art, great churches, property in Rome, and stocks held through its bank easily run into the tens of billions. Yet the Holy See as a sovereign state covers a mere 108 acres and has a small annual budget of about $280 million.
No major book has examined the Churchs financial underpinnings and practices with such journalistic force. Today the Church bears scrutiny by virtue of the vast amounts of money (nearly $2 billion in the United States alone) paid out to victims of clergy abuse. Amid mounting diocesan bankruptcies, bishops have been selling off whole pieces of the infrastructurechurches, schools, commercial propertieswhile the nephew of one of the Vaticans most powerful cardinals engaged in a lucrative scheme to profiteer off the enormous downsizing of American Church wealth.
Critic Reviews:
"Money dominates the third of Jason Berrys important books about the Catholic Church. Render unto Rome probes deeply into the culture of the church. To painful questions about money and sex, Berry finds, the response of the church is always the same secrecy and silence." (Thomas Powers)
"The Catholic Church wants us to believe that it can reform itself from within. This book shows that it simply cant. If you are an entrenched member of the hierarchy, you are not going to like this book. If you are a Catholic who believes that truth will lead to change - and that the Vatican needs to change, and change fast - Render unto Rome is your catechism." (James Carville)
"A captivating read, Render unto Rome is an astounding revelation of the church's financial system, and required reading for those who donate to the church or are interested in the ongoing effort to restore the credibility of the church and its hierarchy." (Sister Joan Chittister, OSB)