Former US Senator, neologism, and noted Catholic, Rick Santorum, has come out in support of Cathio, a for-profit organization that will “provide efficient, secure, and transparent movement of funds within the Catholic world.”
From a release:
“Cathio’s platform is designed to enable all sectors of the Catholic economy to benefit from lower costs and transparent payments,” said Cathio CEO Matthew Marcolini.
Former Ambassador to the Holy See and Cathio Advisor Jim Nicholson stated, “The Church is living in a time of great challenges with the laity asking, ‘What can we do?’ Well, Cathio is a lay initiative that not only strives to save the Church money, but positions it to provide greater transparency of financial transactions and the connectivity of people of good will with good works.”
It should be noted that Santorum is the CEO’s father-in-law – a bit of nepotism that can be avoided in the future if Cathio’s board were to take a vow of chastity – and that the board features Cameron Chell, chairman of ICOx Innovations. Chell and his team brought us the exciting and successful KodakCoin.
I am very excited to be part of a company dedicated to helping the Catholic Church connect with younger believers. https://t.co/OZTHPrJuyh
— Rick Santorum (@RickSantorum) May 31, 2019
Details of this product are slim but it looks to be a traditional fintech play with a blockchain chaser. It’s also apparently a ploy to get kids excited about Church.
“Millennials don’t carry cash, they date on apps and watch on-demand entertainment. We have to be there, we have to learn from successful tech companies, and we have to provide a universal solution that makes it easy for younger generations to engage with the Church,” wrote Santorum.
Image via Cathio.
Users of the Cathio network pay 2% to run their financial transactions through the system and lets priests take donations without any of the money passing through the morally bankrupt Silicon Valley payment providers. As an added bonus the app is sort of a Moviefone for churches, allowing them to post photos and mass times on Cathio’s map.
There’s one snag, however. Blockchain, Marcolini told the Financial Times, will make it easy for parishioners to know where their donations are going. Sadly, this lack of anonymity goes in direct opposition to Christ’s teachings. You’ll recall He said:
So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Maybe they just need to use Monero?
Image via Twitter.