Indeed, the U.S. contributes something around a fourth of the Vatican's operating budget. (Germany contributes nearly as much, I think, but that's probably because of the Kirchensteuer.) On the other hand, American generosity seems to be pretty inelastic, so it's not like the Church is going to fall over themselves to cater to their needs. Sociologists like Greeley have pointed out that defections from the Church have been pretty constantly low for most of the century, and that's probably not going to change.
Incidentally, when has B16 said he regrets many of the reforms? I know he's been critical of the state of the liturgy in much of the world, but that's not necessarily inconsistent with his pre-Conciliar position of being in favor of liturgical reform.
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momijizukamori
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Date: 2006-03-28 05:04 am (UTC)Incidentally, when has B16 said he regrets many of the reforms? I know he's been critical of the state of the liturgy in much of the world, but that's not necessarily inconsistent with his pre-Conciliar position of being in favor of liturgical reform.