GERMANY
The Guardian (United Kingdom)
Reuters
guardian.co.uk, Monday 24 September 2012
Roman Catholic activists in Germany have criticised a decree that denies sacraments and religious burials to people who opt out of a “church tax”.
Bishops issued the decree on Friday, warning Catholics who stop paying the tax they would be excluded from all religious activities, including working in a church, becoming a godparent or taking part in parish activities.
“‘Pay and pray’ is a completely wrong signal at the wrong time,” the reformist movement We Are Church said on Monday. The group said the decree “shows the great fear of the German bishops and the Vatican about further serious losses in church tax revenue”.
A conservative group called the Union of Associations, which is loyal to the pope, asked why Catholics who stopped paying the tax would be punished but those it called heretics could stay in its ranks.
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