In Germany, 56% lose trust in Church
Press TV – April 11, 2010
In the Pope’s homeland, Germany, revelations of sex abuse by Catholic clergy have triggered an unprecedented lack of trust in the Church.
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.
In Addition to the uproar from the disturbing nature of some of the cases, accusations of decades-long cover-ups by the Catholic officials, which allowed some pedophile priests to find new victims, have further tainted the Church’s reputation.
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.
The figure shows a notable rise compared to a poll conducted by the Stern magazine last month, which indicated that 19 percent of those surveyed were undecided about following the Church.
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.
Munich reportedly lost 472 Catholic worshippers last month alone, nearly four times the number for the past three months. Since the German tax department documents deregistrations at the cost of EUR 30 (USD 40), the figures are precise.
The tax provides 70% of the German Church’s revenues.
Since January, hundreds of cases of sexual abuse connected to the Catholic Church have come to light in Germany, including one of the most high-profile revelations that centered on mishandled abuse complaints in the Pope’s former diocese in Bavaria.
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