Billionaire threatens charity donations if Pope continues support for the poor | The Examiner |
Billionaire Ken Langone, the founder of Home Depot issued a warning to Pope Francis during an interview with CNBC which was published this past Monday. In the interview he said that wealthy people such as himself are feeling ostracized by the Pope’s messages in support of the poor, and might stop giving to charity if the Pope continues to make statements criticizing capitalism and income inequality.
Mr. Langone described the Pope’s comments about a “culture of prosperity” as “exclusionary” statements that may make some of the rich “incapable of feeling compassion for the poor.”
The billionaire, who’s a major donor to the Republican Party, is currently working with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, to raise $180 million for the restoration of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Langone said that he told the Archbishop about a wealthy donor who could give millions of dollars to the Cathedral project but was worried about the Pope’s “exclusionary” remarks.
“I’ve told the cardinal, ‘Your Eminence, this is one more hurdle I hope we don’t have to deal with. You want to be careful about generalities. Rich people in one country don’t act the same as rich people in another country,’ said Langone.”
CNBC also spoke to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who said he told Langone the unnamed donor’s concerns seemed based on “a misunderstanding of the Holy Father’s message.”
The Conservatives in the Vatican raise white flag, the cause for sainthood of ‘Liberation’ Bishop Oscar Romero of San Salvador has been ‘unblocked.’
