Reply #22: This is nothing but ignorance and bigotry.

[pnwmom]

The Catholic Church does not teach that wealth is a path to virtue -- it teaches the opposite. That is why the Church and church members have always been heavily involved in charitable work.

And Catholics don't tithe -- they can attend regular services without being parish members or even donating anything at all. The net effect is that Catholics' yearly donations to the Church (which doesn't include other charitable donations) are among the lowest of all denominations.