Germany’s church tax, while not universally admired, has a new supporter: Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga of Kampala, Uganda. After visiting Germany, the archbishop suggested at a Sunday Mass at his cathedral that Uganda might consider adopting the model.
The suggestion has not gone down well, with Catholics protesting that giving to the Church should be voluntary. Protestant pastors responded vehemently, saying such an idea was “driven by greed”.
Archbishop Lwanga has said his comments were misunderstood. In his homily he lamented that many Catholics did not pay the tithe the Bible talks about – that is, 10 per cent of one’s income – and instead gave whatever they happened to have in their pocket. This impeded the Church’s work, he said.
