--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And of course most non-Catholics imagine…" description: "\"And of course most non-Catholics imagine that the Church is immensely rich, and that all Catholic institutions make money hand over fist, and that all ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/thomas-merton-231_cardinals_and-of-course-most-non-catholics-imagine_2877123.jpg" --- # And of course most non-Catholics imagine that the Church… ![“And of course most non-Catholics imagine that the Church is immensely rich, and that all Catholic institutions make money hand over fist, and that all the money is stored away somewhere to buy gold and silver dishes for the Pope and cigars for the College of Cardinals.” quote by Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/thomas-merton-231_cardinals_and-of-course-most-non-catholics-imagine_2877123.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/thomas-merton-231_cardinals_and-of-course-most-non-catholics-imagine_2877123.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/485/thomas-merton-231_cardinals_and-of-course-most-non-catholics-imagine_2877123.jpg) > “And of course most non-Catholics imagine that the Church is immensely rich, and that all Catholic institutions make money hand over fist, and that all the money is stored away somewhere to buy gold and silver dishes for the Pope and cigars for the College of Cardinals.” [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He challenges the stereotype that the Church is a wealthy institution, noting that many Catholic entities operate with modest finances. **In simple terms:** The Church isn’t as rich as people think. Key Takeaway Recognize the economic realities of religious institutions. Themes faith economics stereotypes wealth Mood critical analytical Type sociological economic When to use this quote - budget planning - donor relations - community outreach - financial transparency Key Concepts institutional finance charitable giving public perception Questions to Reflect On - What factors contribute to misconceptions about church wealth? - How can transparency improve public trust? A Different Perspective Some Catholic groups do hold significant assets, complicating the picture. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cardinals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cardinals/) [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [Catholic Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic-institutions-2980917/) [Catholics Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholics-imagine-3966919/) [Church](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/church/) [Cigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cigar/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Dishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dishes/) [Fists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fists/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Gold and silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-and-silver/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-that/) [Immensely Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immensely-rich-3090125/) [Institutions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/institutions/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Non Catholics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/non-catholics-1823363/) [Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pope/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Rich Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-catholic-3966918/) [Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silver/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [In my view, I am often immensely rich, not in money, but (although just now perhaps not all the time) rich because I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/in-my-view-i-am-often-immensely-rich-not-in-money-but-although-just/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [“for the threat embodied in the HHS Mandate. “If the federal government can force not only Catholic institutions, but those of many other faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-g-brown/for-the-threat-embodied-in-the-hhs-mandate-if-the-federal-government/) [Floyd G Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-g-brown/) > [I understand perfectly well why the Catholic Church preaches against abortion. 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After all, property is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-ghazali/a-third-group-of-people-see-the-highest-felicity-in-the-abundance-of/) [Al-Ghazali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-ghazali/) > [It is that fery person for all the orld, as just as you will desire; and seven hundred pounds of moneys, and gold, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/it-is-that-fery-person-for-all-the-orld-as-just-as-you-will-desire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Bell, book and candle shall not drive me back, When gold and silver becks me to come on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/bell-book-and-candle-shall-not-drive-me-back-when-gold-and-silver/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I go now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed. Since I leave now all gold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-go-now-to-the-halls-of-waiting-to-sit-beside-my-fathers-until-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“But if Smith was right, and gold and silver became money through the natural workings of the market completely independently of governments, then wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/but-if-smith-was-right-and-gold-and-silver-became-money-through-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [When I was on tour, people would say "We don't need a value-based currency, we can go out and buy gold and silver with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-von-nothaus/when-i-was-on-tour-people-would-say-we-don-t-need-a-value-based/) [Bernard von NotHaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-von-nothaus/) > [And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/and-when-they-had-finished-it-they-brought-the-rest-of-the-money/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [Today at school I will learn to read at once; then tomorrow I will begin to write, and the day after tomorrow to cipher.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-collodi/today-at-school-i-will-learn-to-read-at-once-then-tomorrow-i-will/) [Carlo Collodi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-collodi/) > [All metallics are neutrals. So it is absolutely fine to mix gold and silver; you just want it to look like it has purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/all-metallics-are-neutrals-so-it-is-absolutely-fine-to-mix-gold-and/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) ## More by Thomas Merton > [“Let no one hope to find in contemplation an escape from conflict, from anguish or from doubt. On the contrary, the deep, inexpressible certitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/let-no-one-hope-to-find-in-contemplation-an-escape-from-conflict-from/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If nothing that can be seen can either be God or represent Him to us as He is, then to find God we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-nothing-that-can-be-seen-can-either-be-god-or-represent-him-to-us/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [It is almost impossible to overestimate the value of true humility and its power in the spiritual life. For the beginning of humility is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/it-is-almost-impossible-to-overestimate-the-value-of-true-humility/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [We are not perfectly free until we live in pure hope. For when our hope is pure, it no longer trusts exclusively in human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/we-are-not-perfectly-free-until-we-live-in-pure-hope-for-when-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The desire to kill is like the desire to attack another with an ingot of red -hot iron: I have to pick up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-desire-to-kill-is-like-the-desire-to-attack-another-with-an-ingot/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [To enter into the realm of contemplation one must in a certain sense die: but this death is in fact the entrance to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/to-enter-into-the-realm-of-contemplation-one-must-in-a-certain-sense/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The mission of Christian humility in social life is not merely to edify, but to keep minds open to many alternatives. The rigidity of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-mission-of-christian-humility-in-social-life-is-not-merely-to/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/peace-cannot-be-built-on-exclusivism-absolutism-and-intolerance-but/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Things that are good are good, and if one is responding to that goodness one is in contact with a truth from which one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/things-that-are-good-are-good-and-if-one-is-responding-to-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Love winter when the plant says nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-winter-when-the-plant-says-nothing/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The logic of worldly success rests on a fallacy: the strange error that our perfection depends on the thoughts and opinions and applause of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-logic-of-worldly-success-rests-on-a-fallacy-the-strange-error/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“The wisdom of the flesh is a judgement that the ordinary ends of our natural appetites are the goods to which the whole of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/the-wisdom-of-the-flesh-is-a-judgement-that-the-ordinary-ends-of-our/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [I will no longer wound myself with the thoughts and questions that have surrounded me like thorns: that is a penance You do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-will-no-longer-wound-myself-with-the-thoughts-and-questions-that/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy. If you write for men--you may make some money and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/if-you-write-for-god-you-will-reach-many-men-and-bring-them-joy-if/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [“Contemplation means rest, suspension of activity, withdrawal into the mysterious interior solitude in which the soul is absorbed in the immense and fruitful silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/contemplation-means-rest-suspension-of-activity-withdrawal-into-the/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) [Explore all 851 Thomas Merton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) ## More Cardinals quotes > [In the casino, the cardinal rule is to keep them playing and to keep them coming back. The longer they play, the more they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-de-niro/in-the-casino-the-cardinal-rule-is-to-keep-them-playing-and-to-keep/) [Robert De Niro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-de-niro/) > [The cardinal rule for hosting the Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants is to expect the unexpected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/the-cardinal-rule-for-hosting-the-miss-usa-and-miss-universe-beauty/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [A rhododendron bud lavender-tipped. Soon a glory of blooms to clash with the cardinals and gladden the hummingbirds!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-beard/a-rhododendron-bud-lavender-tipped-soon-a-glory-of-blooms-to-clash/) [Dave Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-beard/) > [These cardinals trifle with me; I abhor; This dilatory sloth and tricks of Rome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/these-cardinals-trifle-with-me-i-abhor-this-dilatory-sloth-and-tricks/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The first thing I would like to tell you about death is that there is no bigger lie than death. And yet, death appears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/the-first-thing-i-would-like-to-tell-you-about-death-is-that-there-is/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I was very surprised when I heard that I had been chosen to receive the James Cardinal Gibbons Award.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-neville/i-was-very-surprised-when-i-heard-that-i-had-been-chosen-to-receive/) [Aaron Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-neville/) > [If self is a location, so is love: Bearings taken, markings, cardinal points, Options, obstinacies, dug heels, and distance, Here and there and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/if-self-is-a-location-so-is-love-bearings-taken-markings-cardinal/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [You never know what's going to happen the rest of the way. You can't predict. 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