From the Wikipedia page on the Catholic Church: "By means of Catholic charities and beyond, the Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world."

Just yesterday I went to see a presentation of a priest appointed to a massive parish in the rural area of South Sudan, setting up schools and bringing in aid.

> the Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and health care in the world.

Hm. In germany Catholic day care is funded by the state ie taxes by over 90%. Military chaplains 100%. Would be surprised if the difference is bigger in schools and hospitals. I heard that in France there is an actual separation of church and state and as a result the church is rather poor.

Germany is the only country that does that.

In the rest of the world the church is poorer but is still a leading provider of education and healthcare, especially in poor countries.

Tithes to the church are collected via taxes in Germany (Kirchensteuer), so you could argue the church itself is funded by taxes.

Government collects the tax for the churches from their members only, so the government here is merely an intermediary between church members and the respective organisations.

I don't know enough about the current Vatican affairs. But as an anecdotal experience, I was born at a catholic hospital at a small town in Southeast Asia. And they're the best managed hospitals in the area. I'm not even religious or catholic but I respect what they did here

Ah yes, these priests killed and tortured around the world just to burn charity money.