Banks of Piety

Banks Of Piety (or Monts de Piefe, as the French call them) are common in Popish countries. They are professedly designed for the benefit of the poor, but really intended to promote the interests of the Church. They are, in fact, spiritual pawnbroking establishments, conducted on the usual principles of these institutions but the profits of which go to the papal treasury. They were approved by the fifth Lateran Council. SEE MONTES.