For centuries -- millenia! -- the Catholic church has managed to live outside of the common law, retaining special privileges and amassing huge fortunes. It hasn't gone entirely unchallenged, but it has done very well for itself (if not its followers).
Even in egalitarian America, the hierarchy is horrified when the society demands that non-Catholics who work for the church be "allowed" to have the same democratic rights as anyone else, whether those rights conflict with Catholic dogma or not. And in the same way, when priests break the law (and in particularly horrible ways sanctioned by the church) the secular law can go after them. What a ghastly intrusion on the gated community of Catholicism!
But now -- now they want the church to pay its way in the world!
Cash-strapped officials in Europe are looking for a way to ease their financial burden by upending centuries of tradition and seeking to tap one of the last untouched sources of wealth: the Catholic Church.
Thousands of public officials who have seen the financial crisis hit their budgets are chipping away at the various tax breaks and privileges the church has enjoyed for centuries.
But the church is facing its own money troubles. Offerings from parishioners have nosedived, and it has been accused of using shady bank accounts and hiding suspect transactions.
Now, along come officials like Ricardo Rubio.
Rubio, a city council member in Alcala, is leading an effort to impose a tax on all church property used for non-religious purposes. The financial impact on the Catholic Church could be devastating. As one of the largest landowners in Spain — with holdings that include schools, homes, parks, sports fields and restaurants — the church could owe up to 3 billion euros in taxes each year. ...WaPo
The situation is repeated in Ireland and Italy. In England school buses no longer serve Catholic schools for free.
One commenter at the Post has an interesting take on the situation:
The churches will, predictably, be taxed because this would open up yet another indirect cash flow to the wealthy and the corporations, who themselves are claiming that THEY shouldn't be taxed because they are "job creators." So the church, whose priests and nuns take vows of poverty, and that works as a counterbalance to the injustices of our economically imbalanced society, will become another source of money for the plutocrats.
All of this leaves the Church in a mess. Its financial management has been appalling, so it suffers from a constant cash-flow problem. Its assets are huge, but day-to-day management has been dismal. And now... taxes!
