What we can learn from IKEA’s customer service

Ah, the German Kirchensteuer. That is a federal tax which isn’t collected by the churches. It is difficult to understand for non-Germans but its history goes back to when the state seized all church properties and issued a tax to compensate. France and Belgium have a similar system.

It’s a very small tax, 10% of the amount you would pay in federal taxes. Some Catholics wanted to evade that small tax by officially renouncing their faith. The bishops then warned what the consequences (in terms of Canon Law) are when you publicly distance yourself from the Catholic Faith. If you claim you aren’t a Catholic, they will take your word for it and no longer consider you a Catholic. You may indeed lose access to some Sacraments because you no longer are a Catholic. So, this is something different from only giving Catholics who tithe or volunteer access to the Sacraments.

In short: it’s not as black and white as some people want you to believe. Same goes with allowing some non-Catholics to receive the Eucharist. It really depends on the bishop and particular circumstances someone is in.