Catholic World News on Atheist Contribution

Catholic World News has a short but interesting report on an atheist giving a large donation to the Archdiocese of New York.

New York, May. 24, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The New York archdiocese has received a record-breaking gift of $22.5 million from an atheist.

Robert Wilson, a retired financier, has given the sum-- the largest single donation ever recorded by the Church in New York-- to a program that will pay tuition for needy children attending New York's parochial schools.

Explaining his decision to make the grant to a Catholic charity, Wilson pointed out that his money would be used to pay for the education of children, rather than for specifically religious purposes.

While he is not religious, Wilson indicated a deep respect for the Catholic faith. "Let's face it," he told a reporter: "without the Roman Catholic Church there would be no Western civilization."

Lest anyone think this quote from Mr Wilson is merely a compliment, I would recommend How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, available from Amazon.