If all of their 'profit' goes to their charity, then they've met the criteria. Since neither you, nor I, have access to their books, anything else is speculation.
Ahhh...built when, and by whom? Also supported by whom? And, finally, isn't the Vatican it's own country?
I remember him as well. Weren't those cars all gifts from celebs currying favor? Also...wasn't he implicated in several criminal activities? Most religions try to avoid that kind of exposure...
Having no books to access, it gives me concern as to where the money is really going. I would like to see some kind of oversight... but with the basic mantra of church and state separation, it makes such a proposal dicey at best. I do think that the first time the preacher start talking about politics and proclaiming support for one candidate or party over another, they have shed their protections and need to be taxed accordingly.
The Vatican is only the last little vestige of the full-blown Papal States. When a religion gets its own country it has shifted from religion to theocracy. That is just too much power for any one segment of society to have. Lets set them aside though as they are a non-US entity and hardly subject to our tax laws.
I don't recall if the cars were gifts or not... but the whole operation reeked of a classic 'freaky cult' instead of any kind of spiritual enlightenment. When you isolate onto a compound in the deep dark woods and live every moment in a brainwashing feudal system meant to enrich the top dogs... something is wrong, e.g., Koresh, Jim Jones...
I do beleive that the vast majority of it is good and means to do good... but there is that 10% element that exists to abuse the system and attempts to manufacture legal protections behind the skirt of religious freedoms. There needs to be some kind of oversight in order to catch the seeds of corruption at the inset.