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Pope’s brother plans 100,000 euro Vatican birthday bash in honor of himself

October 28, 2008 · 4 Comments

A file picture taken 29 June 1951 shows Josef Ratzinger (R) and his brother Georg in Freising, Bavaria, during their ordination. Germany’s Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected the 265th pope of the Roman Catholic Church on 19 April 2005 and took the name Benedict XVI. The costs of the birthday festivities will be covered by the Regensburg diocese, mainly from money taken off the so-called Church Tax, a levy unique to Germany and Austria that was introduced by Adolf Hitler. AFP PHOTO

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The brother of Pope Benedict XVI in embroiled in a controversy over an alleged 100,000-euro birthday bash that is to be paid for by the Catholic Church.

Telegraph | Oct 27, 2008

Georg Ratzinger, a Catholic prelate from Regensburg and the elder brother of the pontiff, is to celebrate his 85th birthday by listening to Mozart’s Mass in C-Minor performed for him in the Sistine Chapel, according to reports.

A German church choir of 90 singers and 37 musicians from the Linz baroque orchestra L’Orfeo in Austria will be flown to Rome for the January 15 event, according to the German magazine Focus.

The magazine also claimed that the costs of the festivities will be covered by the Regensburg diocese, mainly from money taken off the so-called Church Tax, a levy unique to Germany and Austria that was introduced by Adolf Hitler. The dictator wanted to make the Church less popular by taxing all practising Catholics in the Third Reich, but the regulation has survived his rule and maintains to this day.

The news about the Pope’s brother’s exclusive birthday party was met with criticism by Catholic associations from his own Regensburg diocese, who objected to the decision to finance the bash with the Church Tax.

“Georg Ratzinger should be able to have the party, but it must not be financed by Church Tax money,” said Sigrid Grabmeier, spokesman of the Regensburg diocese laity association We Are The Church, adding that such monies were intended to sponsor pastoral care in hospitals and similar charity projects.

Prelate Ratzinger and the Regensburg diocese were not available for a comment.

Categories: Bizarre · Christianity · Crime & Corruption · Illuminati · Nazism · Religion · Taxation · Vatican

4 responses so far ↓

  • asimplesinner // October 28, 2008 at 1:57 am

    The church-tax predates the Nazi regime and is not exclusive to Catholics in Germany.

    People can opt out of it.

    From wikipedia:

    About 70% of church revenues come from church tax. This is about €8.5 billion (in 2002).

    Article 137 of the Weimar Constitution of 1919 and article 140 of the Grundgesetz of 1949 are the legal basis for this practice.

    In Germany, on the basis of tax regulations passed by the communities and within the limits set by state laws, communities may either

    require the taxation authorities of the state to collect the fees from the members on the basis of income tax assessment (then, the authorities withhold a collection fee), or
    choose to collect the church tax themselves.
    In the first case, membership in the community is entered onto a tax document (Lohnsteuerkarte) which employees must surrender to their employers for the purpose of withholding tax on paid income. If membership in a tax-collecting religious community is entered on the document, the employer must withhold church tax prepayments from the income of the employee in addition to other tax prepayments. In connection with the final annual income tax assessment, the state revenue authorities also finally assess the church tax owed. In the case of self-employed persons or of unemployed taxpayers, state revenue authorities collect prepayments on the church tax together with prepayments on the income tax.

    If, however, religious communities choose to collect church tax themselves, they may demand that the tax authorities reveal taxation data of their members to calculate the contributions and prepayments owed. In particular, some smaller communities (e.g. the Jewish Community of Berlin) choose to collect taxes themselves to save collection fees the government would charge otherwise.

    Collection of church tax may be used to cover any church-related expenses such as founding institutions and foundations or paying ministers.

    The church tax is only paid by members of the respective church. People who are not member of a church tax-collecting denomination do not have to pay it. Members of a religious community under public law may formally declare their wish to leave the community to state (not religious) authorities. With such a declaration, the obligation to pay church taxes ends. Some communities refuse to administer marriages and burials of (former) members who had declared to leave it.

    The money flow of state and churches is distinct at all levels of the procedures. The church tax is not meant to be a way for the state to directly support churches, but since expenses for church tax are fully deductible in fact such support occurs on a somewhat large scale.

    The church tax is historically rooted in the pre-Christian Germanic custom where the chief of the tribe was directly responsible for the maintenance of priests and religious cults. During the Christianization of Western Europe, this custom was adopted by the Christian churches (Arian and Catholic) in the concept of “Eigenkirchen” (churches owned by the landlord) which stood in strong contrast to the central church organization of the Roman Catholic church. Despite the resulting medieval conflict between emperor and pope, the concept of church maintenance by the ruler remained the accepted custom in most Western European countries. In Reformation times, the local princes in Germany became officially heads of the church in Protestant areas and were legally responsible for the maintenance of churches. Not until the 19th century were the finances of churches and state regulated to a point where the churches became financially independent. At this point the church tax was introduced to replace the state benefits the churches had obtained previously.

    Worth noting, the choir performances will take place publically and in the Vatican.

    If I had to guess, the birthday allowed for an excuse to send a choir on a trip – all the same as so many choirs are sent on so many trips…

  • pjwalker911 // October 28, 2008 at 2:37 am

    First, thanks for setting us straight about the church tax issue. But you seem to think this little party is justified. Is that right?

  • asimplesinner // October 28, 2008 at 3:02 am

    I am not sure that is right… Inasmuch as I am not a German-taxpayer, I don’t feel compelled to justify or attack it. It is what it is – the decision of the person or committee that oversees how money that a German can opt out of paying gets spent.

    Does it bother me? No. It isn’t my money or political system.

  • pjwalker911 // October 28, 2008 at 3:37 am

    In that case, maybe “asophisticatedsinner” would be a more suitable handle for you…

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