THE ECONOMICS OF RELIGION – CATHOLIC FINANCE –“The medieval records show, howev

THE ECONOMICS OF RELIGION – CATHOLIC FINANCE
–“The medieval records show, however, that the normal economic incentive of profit drove Church practice. The ban on usury was a way to make sure that public wealth was not siphoned off to lenders but instead was available for paying tithes. What the record shows more concretely, is that the Roman Curia, or head office, loaned money to its own divisions in the field—bishops, monasteries, or religious orders—at high interest rates. This allowed Rome to collect rents downstream, a very normal profit-making practice of the multidimensional firm.”–