They worked at a Catholic hospital for decades. Then it took away their pension

[Collimator]

18. A PBS program that I saw

Explained that the revenue stream in the Catholic Church runs in only one direction. All the parishioners (and any other donors) throughout the world give to their local church. The local church always sends a cut to the Vatican. The rest, presumably, is channeled into the services that the local church provides or sponsors.

The Vatican does not send out money to any actual, boots on the ground church or Catholic service organization.

In a way, it's like Multi-Level Marketing. There's a scene in Inferno where Stellan Skarsgard's character forcefully defends the Catholic Church by stating that " My church heals the sick. My church feeds the hungry. . ."

But it doesn't. There are people out in the world providing time, money and services to people in need who are affiliated with the Catholic Church. But they have to wrangle their own funding and--as mentioned before-- are expected to provide a portion of their "take" to their governing diocese which then sends some of the money up the food chain.

The people providing the actual assistance are basically paying to be affiliated with the Catholic Church which lends them legitimacy and identity.

The Catholic Church is a brand. And the folks who manage the brand's presentation to the world are the ones who benefit the most from the name.