First of all — like any monuments and works of art like the Mona Lisa, the White House, or Buckingham Palace are not things for sale. Why? Because they are considered the “patrimony of mankind” — they don’t have a price tag. It’s not something that you sell. They belong to all people and for future generations. And besides, even if you were to sell all the basilicas belonging to the Catholic Church, it will not solve world poverty. The world would be culturally impoverished by the loss of such artifacts to private hands. The money will eventually run out, governments will still be corrupt, others will spend the money frivolously, and we will have more poor people more than ever.

Besides, it is not offensive to religious sensibilities for a Church to maintain such beautiful treasures for the glory of God. If the Temple in Jerusalem could be richly ordained in order to glorify God and to inspire human worship, the Catholic Church can be richly ordained for the same purposes. And no one, I hope, would fault the Jewish people for maintaining such an elaborate temple.

It seems to me that your problem has nothing to do with the apparent wealth of the Catholic Church, but with the Catholic Church itself and perhaps its teachings. And if that is the case, it’s good that you left the Church — it’s probably good for your soul and peace of mind. But please, don’t use the wealth of the church as an excuse for your lack of love for the teachings of the Catholic Church. Besides, even if the Church did do what you want — honestly would really come back? So leave the Catholic Church alone. Enjoy the rest of your life, stop being bitter and finding all sorts of ignorant excuses for leaving the Catholic Church!