All churches must keep books as well as the Book. One of the odder financial problems besetting the Roman Catholic Church came to light in Lourdes last week. The occasion: a stern message to his flock from Bishop Pierre-Marie Théas of Tarbes and Lourdes, a churchman who has long battled commercialization of France's famed shrine (TIME, July 21). This time Bishop Théas' anger was aimed at Lourdes' own Roman Catholic Information Center: "Henceforth Catholics must, as a matter of conscience, abstain from membership, gifts or subscriptions [to the center]. The presence on its...
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