Mass Exodus Continues from German Catholic Church

Catholic Culture ^ | 7/17/15

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Mass Exodus Continues from German Catholic Church

The article does not mention where these people are becoming.

Are they becoming Atheists? Buddhists? Protestants? Muslims?

That’s the important question I’d like answered.

[lastchance]

This is one of the reasons those Bishops are pushing to embrace heresy. They think it will bring back the $$$$.

[mlizzy]

I know we personally would not be able to afford the 8 or 9 percent tax. And look what they take away from Catholics if you snub the tax, dropping out of the membership ranks:

Catholics who renounce their church membership are barred from confession and communion, and from the anointing of the sick, unless they are on the point of death.

Which begs the question; how does a priest know (in the confessional or the communion line or a large parish) that you have dropped membership? Does one have to wear a "666" tattooed on their foreheads?

[Polyxene]

Yep

[RitaOK]

I know these German Catholics are being devoured by wolves,
“white martyrs” is the term. But, for the sake of Holy Eucharist, can they endure? Or by taxation and apostasy should they stay home? I haven’t found much teaching on their response.

Since this is coming to a church near you we should know how to prepare ourselves.

[RitaOK]

Yes, I am very interested in that question, also. We need to know how to respond to apostasy but stay Catholic in so doing. Personally, I would surmise the departures are not going anywhere else, they are simply unable to go to the Mass, for reasons of taxation and apostasy.

Most of them surely understand the types of martyrdom and that they are lambs beset by wolves and have no alternative but to remove themselves from their clutches, taking to their prayer closet and fasting. Just my two cents.

[FamiliarFace]

I meant my reply in post 20 to your question.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3314158/posts?page=20#20

[ronnietherocket3]

The court said that, too, was a matter of religious freedom, a decision that so rankled religious leaders fearful of losing a lucrative revenue stream that they made clear, right away, that taxes are the price for participation in the church’s most sacred rituals: no payments, no sacraments.

I see Johann Tetzel was raised from the dead.

[2tipsea]

Everyone is subject to the German “church” tax, it’s a percentage of each person’s income and they simply check which category they prefer. Catholic is the biggest, then Lutheran, but there are also categories for atheists and some sort of greenie-gaia-transcendentalists, or maybe those are lumped into one category!

[2tipsea]

LOL... but are you confusing that with Ash Wednesday?

The government supplies a report of who is “registered”, I suppose that would be yearly, after tax time.

[Cronos]

this dates from Prussian times

[afraidfortherepublic]

But my original question hoped to ask that if the Lutherans are also subject to the tax, are their numbers also declining at the same rate as the Catholics? If the Lutherans are not leaving in droves, then the decline amongst the Catholics has nothing to do with the church.