Well, good for the Germans.
An opinion poll conducted by the Focus magazine found that 56 percent of the 600 German participants have no confidence in the Church, which has been rocked by an unending stream of sex abuse allegations against priests.
Some 26 percent of the country's Catholic population is now considering quitting the Church, according to the study which is to be published in the magazine on Monday. The respondents said that this is regardless of the consequences of the move on their income tax.
On their INCOME TAX? Huh?
Germany is among a number of European countries that impose Church tax (8-9%) on followers of any religious congregation, unless a member officially quits their communion.
...and the German government gives the income from these taxes to the Church! Got that? The supposedly secular government collects tithes for the church!
Item: Jews blamed for pedophile backlash
An Italian Catholic Web site is claiming that a retired bishop has blamed the Jews for the current backlash against the church over sex abuse claims.
Giacomo Babini, 81, the emeritus bishop of Grosseto, allegedly said in an article on the Pontifex Web site that he believed a “Zionist attack” was behind the criticism of the church, considering how “powerful and refined” the criticism was.
“They do not want the church, they are its natural enemies. Deep down, historically speaking, the Jews are God killers,” he was quoted as saying.
He now denies having said these things.
[Times Online article]
However, Bruno Volpe, who interviewed Monsignor Babini for Pontifex, confirmed that the bishop had made the statement, which was reported widely in the Italian press today. Pontifex threatened to release the audio tape of the interview as proof
Wow. What an asshole.
Other Stuff Catholics Have So Far Blamed for the Church's Pedophilia Scandal:
- The Devil
- Gays
- The Sexual Revolution
- The Media
- Persecution
Unbelievable.
