You may of already of heard of this one, if not, listen up. The Catholic Church in Germany is requiring it's faithful parishoners to pay a "Church Tax" not only by official members of the Catholic Church but, in order to receive ANY Sacrament...including the Holy Eucharist. Sounds medieval, doesn't it? It almost behooves us to beckon back to the days of Martin Luther when some Churches were selling indulgences and all of the bad things that those mean, greedy, old men of the Church did during the [Spanish] Inquisition! How dare those German Bishops stop anyone from partaking in the Sacraments!
Well, I'm here to tell you that if that's the mentality that you currently have, then I would suggest looking at it the perspective of the Catholic Church's teachings - not from the view point of a certain heretic group who is calling the so-called Church Tax "pay and pray."
First let's establish one thing. The tax in question IS NOT a tax that is being levied by the Catholic Church; I repeat, the Church Tax IS NOT an instrument of the Church in Germany. The "Church Tax" is, however, AN INSTRUMENT OF THE GERMAN STATE, Germany has had this tax on all government approved religions since the 18th century. What this tax does is very simple: it taxes 8-9% of every church-goers income and then the state funnels/redistributes the monies back into the church-goers religious community for such things as church improvement projects, building new churches, new outreach ministries, etc.
So, if I'm a Catholic in Germany, when I go and do my taxes, I will be charged an 8-9% tax simply because I'm an official member of the Catholic Church, as stated in my tax documents as submitted by my employer to the state. Once again, this tax IS NOT charged by the Catholic Church, IT IS charged by the state per state law and it applies to all major Protestant denominations as well as Jews whom live in Germany. In other words, pretty much every member of every major religious group in Germany gets charged the "Church Tax" on their income taxes at the end of the year.
Now, we come to the brunt of the argument: "Why then is the Catholic Church barring faithful Catholics from the Sacraments and from official Church functions if they don't pay the tax?"
The answer is a very simple one, indeed it is so simple that to miss it, totally invalidates the German Bishop's position. You see, there is only one way in which a faithful Catholic, Protestant, or Jew can escape the German "Church Tax," and that is to OFFICIALLY RENOUNCE their religious affiliation to the state via their income tax form. Any member of a church can save 8-9% of their income simply by doing this - by stating that they are no longer a member of any religion, a citizen can receive a larger tax rebate! This is where the Catholic Church in Germany has drawn the line and, as I will demonstrate, with good cause.
Let's look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2088-2089 which states (with my emphasis):
...There are various ways of sinning against faith: Voluntary doubt about the faith disregards or refuses to hold as true what God has revealed and the Church proposes for belief...Incredulity is the neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal to assent to it. "Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him."
This is where the German Bishops have to take issue with the laity whom have WILLFULLY and DELIBERATELY renounced their membership within the Body of Christ in order to save less then 10% of their income. Let's think about this rationally: a member of the One True Church of Christ has formally denounced their membership, that is, they have repudiated not only the Catholic Church but her teachings as well. Now this former member of the Church can enjoy more of his or her income but, since they have FORMALLY DENIED their membership within the Catholic Church, they have WILLFULLY and DELIBERATELY placed themselves outside of the Church and hence, not eligible for any Sacrament nor participation in the Church.
What is the difference from someone who has renounced the Catholic faith and an anti-Catholic Protestant? None! Both have chosen not to abide by the Divinely revealed truths as well as the authority invested in the Catholic Church, therefore, denying "c"atholics who have denounced the faith in order to save more income is no different than denying these clowns the Holy Eucharist. Why? Because both have placed themselves outside of the Church.
In accordance to CCC #2088-89, these former members have incredulously and willfully refused to accept the truth found in the Church. They have also fallen into heresy by denying the Bride of Christ, they have become apostates by repudiating the Catholic faith and have, therefore - through their own actions and refusal to not be in communion with the members of the Church (including the Pope) - become schismatics.
Make no mistake, the German bishops are correct in what they have done, any Catholic or Protestant knows that as a Christian we must take up our cross each and every day and try our hardest to follow Christ. Not wanting to pay 8-9% of your income to the state barely qualifies as a huge burden to any faithful Christian in Germany, as Jesus said in Mark 12:17:
"Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
Indeed, all Christians are bound by these words but, as Catholics, we must also acknowledge one Church teaching that should settle any doubts about ever formally renouncing our faith. It was stated in the mid 3rd century by St. Cyprian of Carthage in his epistle on The Unity of the Catholic Church (6,1):
"...whoever is separated from the Church and is joined to an adulteress, is separated from the promises of the Church, nor will he that forsakes the Church of Christ attain the rewards of Christ. He is a stranger, he is a profane, he is an enemy."
St. Jerome writing in the 4th century in his Commentary on Titus 3:10-11 states from Scripture the following:
"Heretics bring sentence upon themselves since they by their own choice withdraw from the Church, a withdrawal which, since they are aware of it, constitutes damnation."
This teaching is also seen in 1215 when, during the Fourth Lateran Council, Pope Innocent III declared:
"There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved."
The same statement is reiterated 1442 at the Council of Florence and again one hundred years later at the Council of Trent and by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960's and, it is also found in the Catechism! CCC #846 states in certain terms the following:
How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.
Don't get it twisted: the Church has always proclaimed and will continue to proclaim that she is the way to Christ and therefore to salvation, the church is the upholder and protector of all truths; only she is endowed with the authority properly given to her to proclaim the truth. So now the question comes down to a very simple proposition: do you want the truth or do you want to pay less taxes?
Answer carefully. Your eternal soul depends on it.
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