I've seen this movie.
Posted on 09/22/2012 9:58:53 AM PDT by DeaconBenjamin
The Catholic Church in Germany is urging its followers to put their money where their faith is. Under a new rule, anyone who doesn’t pay church tax will no longer be considered a member of the flock.
Catholics who decide to skip the tax will be unable to receive Communion, be confirmed or go to confession, Die Welt newspaper wrote on Thursday. The rule, which takes effect on September 24, also bars non-payers from becoming godparents or belonging to a Catholic congregation.
Critics have argued that believers can still count themselves as members of the Catholic community and practice their faith without paying the church tax – which amounts to 8 or 9 percent of a person’s income, depending on the state.
A “general decree” published on Thursday by the German Bishops Conference says church-leavers have violated their obligation to make a “financial contribution that allows the church to fulfill its role.”
Die Welt reported that Pope Benedict XVI personally approved the document, which puts an end to months of wrangling over the issue.
Couples can receive an exemption to be married in the church, as long as they pledge to maintain their faith and raise their children as Catholics. But the powers that be can deny church tax dodgers a Catholic burial “if the person who has left the church has not shown any sign of remorse before death.”
Though the bishops’ text avoids the word “excommunication,” the consequences of the all-or-nothing rule are essentially the same.
If a Catholic notifies the registry office that he has chosen to renounce his faith, thereby allowing him to stop paying church tax, he will receive a letter from a priest that includes a list detailing the consequences of his decision – and an offer to meet for “reconciliation” talks.
More than 100,000 people have left the Catholic Church in Germany each year since 1990 – with more than 126,000 deciding to part ways with the church last year.
When I told God I was sorry....I don’t ever remember hearing “Pay me”!!
As my husband said, Oh, those Krazy Krauts!
Maybe they could just set up a ticket turnstile next to the holy water.
Having lived in Germany for sixteen-odd years...I can offer this observation. For the past hundred years....folks have basically stopped going to church in Germany. You have a full church on Easter and Christmas...otherwise, in a village of 3k residents...the one and only local church (of just about any denomination) will be lucky to have forty people to show up on a Sunday.
So the deal is simple...you sign up via the local city hall to note your religious preference, and a church tax is automatically deducted from your paycheck. If you note no church....then you get no church funeral or church marriage.
Years ago, the church funeral was a big deal. Now, local guys have buildings that are arranged for a funeral and rent them out. So I’d guess that half the folks in Germany have quit the church tax. As for the younger crowd? Well...if you have hopes of finding a decent guy or gal....and want a big nice ceremony...then you accept the church tax for a decade or so until you are married, then you dump the church tax.
The truth is that there is a fair amount of cost to keep these older buildings in operational order.
There’s another thread on this, but I haven’t seen what the policy of the Evangelist regional church is when it’s members do the same: declare they have left the church to not pay the tax. Anyone know?
I've seen this movie.
German Catholics should come here: If they wanted to, they could get away with murder.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/nancy-pelosi-on-abortion-catholic-churchs-conscious-thing-puts-women-at-physical-risk/
“Back in 2008, Pelosi appeared on an episode of “Meet the Press,“ where she described herself as an ”ardent, practicing Catholic,“ but claimed that ”we don’t know” when life begins.”
They’d have to change the movie, the tax is also paid for and to Protestant Churches.
something activated my BS detector...
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
“Now this I say: He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings. Every one as he hath determined in his heart, not with sadness, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Back to indulgences?
Apparently you have NOT seen the movie because Protestants pay the church tax too. It was originally a Protestant idea in modern Germany, in fact.
protestants sell indulgences? Catholics sure don’t, but since protestants pay this tax you must mean them too, right?
Calling in the troops, eh?
Well, let’s see you square this circle: The Catholic church and its members actively assisting in infanticide in this country which guarantees “life (liberty and property)”.
We find a single cell somewhere millions of miles, or light-years, away and that’s `life.’ But a viable fetus isn’t “life” down the street at the abortion clinic.
Go ahead, make my day.
It was a joke, son.
The Catholic church and its members actively assisting in infanticide
Certainly some members go against Church teaching; however, the Catholic Church has always strongly opposed abortion.
Concerning church positions, on the non-Catholic side: from Wikipedia:
Protestant supporters of abortion rights include the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, the Episcopalian Church, and the United Presbyterian Church, the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), The United Church of Christ, The United Methodist Church, and the Lutheran Women's Caucus.[9][28] The American Baptist Churches USA, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and The United Church of Christ consider abortion permissible under certain restricted circumstances.
The German Church bowed to the government in the 1930’s. It did not go well then.
This article is about the Catholic denomination excluding non-tax payers, how do different Protestant denominations enforce the tax?
Do they do it spiritually?
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