The Catholic church has to pay a settlement of $10 million for the sex abuse and subsequent attempt to hide the abuse by moving pedophiles to new areas where they could strike again on unsuspecting victims.
How do they plan on paying this settlement? They don't. They are asking the church members to pay it for them. Each region has been set with a goal amount to raise to settle the debt.
It seems odd to me that people would pay the fee levied as punishment for the people that preyed on their children. That takes a level of faith or indoctrination that is far beyond my ability to comprehend but this is a blog about money, not religious brainwashing.
Catholics in Spokane Washington are being asked to donate $1,000 per family on top of their normal get-into-heaven contribution. And what if they can't afford it? Put it on a credit card, the church is urging. Hey, and you'll earn airline miles. Read Local Catholics Asked To Pay By Credit Card [emphasis not mine] if you think I'm making any of this up.
There is good news if you live in Brazil. The Catholic Church in Brazil now issues its own credit cards so instead of airline miles, you can earn heavenly miles when you show your forgiveness to the church that helped pedophiles avoid being revealed for who they were.
This way the church doesn't have to pay its debt and they get to collect on the interest. How cool is that for the church?