German Court Says State Will Not Regard Those Who Stop Paying Church Taxes As Church Members

In Germany, Leipzig's Federal Administrative Court ruled yesterday that a person will not be considered by the state to be a member of the Catholic Church if he opts out of paying Church taxes. However how the Church deals internally with a person who does not pay Church taxes is up to religious authorities.  According to Deutsche Welle in an article and an op-ed, the ruling comes in a case filed in 2007 by a retired professor of church law who had insisted that he would no longer pay the church tax but would still remain a Catholic and continue praying and receiving Holy Communion.  At that time there was some disagreement between the Vatican and the German bishops over the definition of Church membership. However, last week, the German Catholic bishops issued a ruling that had been approved in advance by the Vatican that said those who opt out of the Church tax cannot participate in most aspects of the Catholic Church. (See prior posting.)