As long as the Catholic church continue to contribute to the AIDS pandemic in Africa by refusing to sanction condoms, I will struggle to support any of their work. This affects millions. Entire populations. It's preposterous. And on a smaller but equally shocking scale, the successive cover ups of child abuse.
Going into any church, particularly a Catholic church, makes me deeply uncomfortable. I think the institution itself is the height of hypocrisy, and I find the level of money donated today a bit baffling. Great for Notre Dame, and that's fine, historic monument and all that, but I've always found the amount of gold and wealth on show in churches, particularly Catholic ones, at odds with the teachings of Jesus. I'm not a Christian, but had a Christian upbringing, and I've seen from the inside that the Church as a body has very little to do with faith. It's a man-made and deeply flawed institution which has always been more about power and control than genuinely practising the core messages of the New Testament. And I will always think that's a shame, given what it's meant to stand for. And yes there are individuals who do good work, but there are as many non religious people who do just as much, so the church doesn't have a monopoly on that. I don't think a few good works outdo the huge atrocity of the AIDS pandemic.
I can't help but agree with those posters who've questioned the amount of money raised for this building, and what it could be better used for. It sums up the ever widening gap between rich and poor, and a problem with our superficial society - a building receives more in 12 hours than many causes for human beings in need will ever make.