How much is cost of Pope's visit?

It will be interesting to learn the details of what various governments in the USA are paying for the visit of Pope Francis in light of the "separation of church and state" as described in the U.S. Constitution.

To me, the US, state, and local governments should not be paying one penny for the visit, especially since the Vatican finances are so lucrative. The Vatican owns a large amount of real estate in Manhattan alone and much of that real estate is leased.

I'm sure some reporter will soon reveal all the money side of this visit.

Another interesting point for me was a CBS reporter stating that the Catholic denomination is the largest denomination in the U.S. While that is true of the specific Catholic denomination, what is being ignored is that all the other Protestant denominations put together total almost 92% of Christian denominations in this country. With the influx of Hispanics, the Roman Catholic denomination will not be decreasing, since most Hispanics identify with those religious beliefs.

Of course, for Christians, the problem is that the number of "non-affiliated" is rising. These are atheists, agnostics, and people who just don't connect to any specific religious beliefs that are served by a formal denomination.

Personally, I believe that regardless of the number of Catholics or Christians in the U.S., not one penny should be spent by governments in this country to cover the costs of a visit by ANY religious figure. I base my opinion on the wording of the U.S. Constitution, but then that document and framework for this country has been becoming less and less meaningful over the past years.

Visit of Pope Francis

I should be amazed at how mesmerized people are, but I'm not. It is so much easier to put everything in one's life onto the shoulders of another or of God, rather than using one's own brain, will, etc. to manage life well.

There are people who believe the Pope participates in secret rituals at the Vatican in which children are murdered and the hierarchy eat the flesh of those children and drink their blood. It is said this was also a ritual of the Caananites. I don't know, wasn't present at either. But, having read about the rituals, it has been unnerving to see all the small children run to Pope Francis. This ritual story may not be true. But, what if it were? It is just too awful to think about.

I did watch the Welcome at the White House and laughed at all the military when the Pope preaches peace. That was so strange! I wonder what he thought!

At least he has worked on his English so he can read his speech in the language of most Americans.

For a country in which the separation of church and state is so touted, this has been an interesting event!