And the people of the Philippines are faithful Catholic’s who do believe in the power of prayer and the Pope…

Pope Francis does seem like a good person (certainly better than Pope Benedict who was vile at the best of times) but Colm is correct, the people can do without prayers and are in real need for aid. As the saying goes: “Two hands working can do more than a thousand clasped in prayer.”

Commenters here do love to have a go every time someone opens their mouth with prayer, condolence or good will towards the Philippines. Pity none of the same commenters can take the time to actually check if their conclusions are accurate.

1. The Vatican has given direct emergency aid to the Philippines
2. The Catholic Church is not a fully centralised organisation. Meaning individual churches, dioceses (including those in the Philippines) and Catholic charities have also been sending aid

His cash would mean more…as the Catholicism stuff hasn’t served to well to date has it?

They gave $150,000!! Wow you’re right I take it all back! How generous.

Kevin, the Vatican has sent €100k (or €3m according to time magazine’s resident catholic). This pales significantly to what the Philippines collect in donations from their 75m Catholics each week. But you are missing the point – asking for prayers will do nothing apart from keep those 75m Catholics members contributing to the church after the deluge is cleared. The donation is actually irrelevant (asides from the fact that Philippines itself has a €1 billion stockpile for arms spending that can be diverted) – India is giving feck all but is providing more worthwhile assistance.

And before you ask, I never give cash to Irish charities, but I am contributing to the relief by providing infrastructure services as part of the communications community, so we can keep emergency services running on the ground.

Agreed Colm. He could sell some of the papal jewellery that he declines to wear and use the proceeds to send aid. I wonder how much the new mosaic cost? Pray by all means, but mother church could do so much more.

Sheik, and if he sells it what about the next tragedy that comes along and then the next one. So let’s sell everything until everyone is poor.

Ronan, you are correct, the Philippines is a very Catholic country and perhaps pope Francis words may help comfort some people however as someone also pointed out, the church collects millions in donations every year from Filipinos and the time to give some of that back is now. Prayer won’t feed a hungry child or give a family shelter. I was in the Philippines last week so I know first hand what these people need. The church is doing in the Philippines what it did in Ireland for many many years, controlling the poor through fear and hope!

I notice a couple of you mention the €150k as being a small amount. Firstly the Pope actually only has access to a small amount of funds from the Vatican Operating Budget (a budget one tenth the size of Harvard’s) for his own charitable donations. The Gates Foundation has given $400000….where’s the derision for them ?

Secondly each of you decided to ignore my other point. Google and see how many individual churches have sent donations. Google and see what aid agencies like Catholic Relief Services are actually doing on the ground in the Philippines delivering $20 million in emergency aid to about a half a million people.

Load of rubbish. The Pope, believe it or not, is a Catholic. So he prays and he asks others for their prayers. As do the millions of other Filipino Catholics out there.

I’ve given 20 euros so far joe and i earn f*#k all compared to the spooks in Rome. I hope you are not seriously trying to defend them sending a few prayers or preachers instead of cold hard cash which might save a few kids from disease and starvation

It’s not “instead of” Chuck they have sent both

@Paddy”Herbert”Scully,It is very difficult to reason someone out of a position they did not reason themselves into.
Bill Gates has been quoted as saying he thinks scientifically and doesn’t believe information without evidence(what does that sound like if not an Atheist? and that was on the topic of religion)

How many millions or billions has Vat-Corp got from the Philippines via church collections? Maybe returning the bulk of that would be a start eh?Too much to ask for from God’s infallible earthly representative?

When has the Pope his Cardinals Archbishops and all the other Vatican pawns and blind followers or any other faith and their sheep for that matter ever prayed away a Tsunami or Hurricane or Earthquake?

You have a logical part of your brain ever human does you must know on some deeper unconscious level that the mumbo jumbo software of religion installed in your head doesn’t stand up to scientific reasoning logic or sense.
And you believe in Catholicism but if you were born in Saudi Arabia you’d have a different faith and view.Ever consider the dogma of Catholicism might be wrong?

I imagine your generation had religion spoon-feed to them resulting in Holy Catholic Ireland and priests and the church on pedestals.But later Generations are waking up educating themselves asking questions,holding nonsense to account and understanding religion is completely unnecessary to have morality compassion empathy to care and to strive to be a better person.

BOOM 1-0 to James, very well put ;-)