Cal Thomas: “If the money I have earned, saved, invested and spent responsibly to care for myself and my family is confiscated by the state (and goodness knows the state already takes a lot of it), who is going to care for us should I retire or become incapacitated? I can’t live on Social Security alone. What will happen to the charities to which I now contribute? Will the government give them an equivalent amount? Where will that money come from? Time magazine reports that, according to the best guess of bankers, Vatican wealth is between $10 and $15 billion. If Pope Francis is serious about redistribution, he should lead by example and sell all Vatican property, including its valuable artwork, empty its bank and give the money to the Italian government, or to the United Nations. Charity and philanthropy are better than wealth redistribution because they create a bond between the giver and the receiver, unlike an anonymous government check. These donations also establish an expectation that the receiver has a moral responsibility to use the money or services wisely and be accountable to the giver.”