500 Swiss Catholics left the church in last 3 weeks. And seems church bosses aren't worried about lost souls as much as lost money. Because in Switzerland, faithful pay a "church tax" and church coffers are taking a big hit.
Quote:Catholic Church experiences exodus in wake of sex abuse scandal
The exodus of the Swiss faithful accelerated further following the sexual abuse scandal. In Fribourg alone, no less than 500 people have left the Catholic Church in the last three weeks. The institution, which depends on ecclesiastical taxes, is worried about its future.
“For personal reasons, I no longer wish to be subject to church tax.” Jérémy Stauffacher, an independent lawyer, no longer wishes to pay for the Catholic Church, which he made known last week in a letter addressed to his parish.
This erosion has accelerated, but it has been eating away at the institution for a long time. In ten years, departures have really jumped in Switzerland, going from 13,809 in 2011 to 34,182 in 2021.
The general secretary of the Catholic Ecclesiastical Corporation of the canton of Fribourg, David Neuhaus, regrets that the acceleration of these departures occurs while the Catholic Church is trying to shed all light on its past.
The University of Zurich study documenting more than 1,000 cases of sexual abuse was indeed commissioned by three Catholic bodies, including the Swiss Bishops' Conference.
The Church, which depends on ecclesiastical taxes, is worried about its future. According to David Neuhaus, without the revenue from these taxes, many services can no longer be provided.
According to a projection from the Ecoplan research office, the Swiss Catholic Church will no longer be able to compensate for the reduction in taxes from 2030 if it does not take measures.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/catholic-ch...l/48863274
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
