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Poland is a Catholic country [177]
The RCC is not just another NGO. In Poland the Church plays a huge roll in the service of the nation. It inculcates high moral standards in the young people it catechises, cares for the sick, homeless, needy, mentally challenged and elderly, perpetuates the nation's heritage and continues to enrich its culture.
And yet, taxpayers may earmark only one-half of one percent of their tax money to the RCC or other denominations. Run-of-the-mill organisations like some stray cat shelter can count on a whole one percent.
I know our Church-bashers will again find ways to vent their spleen on the RCC (like dredging up the priest-paedophile angle!), because that is inevitable for those seething with hatred towards Catholicism. But that does not change the fact that the RCC is Poland's largest single care-provider to the needy and underprivileged. For that reason alone it deserves our utmost respect and acknowledgment. For the benefit of penny-pinchers, any public funds used to assist nun-run charities constitute a significant saving compared to what institutions employing hired laypeople cost to operate.