God bless you, sir. Or Nothing bless you. Whichever you prefer.

I must admit that there are many atheists I admire. Some of the people I have frequent contact with fall into this category, and Atheists for Life is a fine group of passionate and well-spoken people. Now comes word that an atheist has donated over $22 MILLION to NYC Catholic schools. This man, who doesn't even believe in God, has the common sense and humility to recognize a good thing when he sees it, and to put his money where it will benefit children. Methinks someone read "How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization."


From the New Oxford Review:

May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Philanthropist and retired hedge-fund manager Robert W. Wilson said he is giving $22.5 million to the Archdiocese of New York to fund a scholarship program for needy inner-city students attending Roman Catholic schools.

Wilson, 80, said in a phone interview today that although he is an atheist, he has no problem donating money to a fund linked to Catholic schools.

``Let's face it, without the Roman Catholic Church, there would be no Western civilization,'' Wilson said. ``Shunning religious organizations would be abhorrent. Keep in mind, I'm helping to pay tuition. The money isn't going directly to the schools.''

Read the entire thing.