Kasper, German Bishops, and the Church Tax

In this age of 24-7, can’t escape information-mongering, it is amazing (or perhaps not) that actually reporting continues to suck.

Obviously, there is a lot of discussion regarding the Synod, much of that discussion being driven by Cardinal Kasper of Germany, who is just going on and on and on about compassion and mercy and such.

Plenty of people are talking about all of that. What hardly anyone is doing, however is even trying to move beyond the ideological narratives, and raising questions about the German church tax.

For that is really the most pressing issue facing the German Catholic Church. And I really wonder why any of our highly-praised religion journalists are completely ignoring this issue and don’t even seem interested in connecting the dots or even asking Cardinal Kasper directly about how the Catholic Church in Germany understands and practices issues related to Church membership and the sacraments. And taxes.

Here’s the deal. I’m going to use the explanation of the German Church Tax that I found on a Mormon blog. It’s clear and helpful:

What hardly anyone is doing, however is even trying to move beyond the ideological narratives, and raising questions about the German church tax. For that is really the most pressing issue facing the German Catholic Church. And I really wonder why any of our highly-praised religion journalists are completely ignoring this issue and don’t even seem interested in connecting the dots or even asking Cardinal Kasper directly about how the Catholic Church in Germany understands and practices issues related to Church membership and the sacraments. And taxes.

More from the Wordpress blog:

German tax authorities collect an 8 or 9 percent premium on churchgoers’ annual tax bills and channel it to the faiths to pay clergy salaries, charity services and other expenses. Members must officially leave the church to avoid paying this. Under a simplified procedure starting next year, banks will withhold that premium from church members earning more than 801 euros ($1,055) in capital gains annually and pass it on to tax authorities for distribution to the churches. Letters from banks announcing the new procedure this summer and asking clients for their religious affiliation — so they can earmark funds to the right churches — have worried many members. Churches have scrambled to explain the changes.

And this:

The German Catholic Church is a big business (the country’s second-largest employer) and it’s income is considerable. There are various sources for that income, but a huge part of it is the church tax. Fewer registered members? Less income....Here’s how the German bishops responded to the growing exodus. Back in 2012, they issued a decree. This decree declared that if you’re Catholic, and you un-register with the German government and don’t pay the church tax…you’re basically excommunicated. From, you know, the Eucharistic Table of the Lord. You can’t be buried out of the Church unless you’ve repented. Heck, you can’t even chair the social committee.

If AMERICANS had to pay a Church Tax, I don’t know how many churches would stay open.

...they’d stay open just fine, if the various dioceses dropped their annual assessments appeals...

...which are appeals in name only as if you do not fork over, and continue going to church, someone from the diocese will eventually get to back to you, and the occasion will not be a happy one...

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