A Ugandan Archbishop who is obviously worried that church members are not paying tithes and in good time has suggested to the government to deduct tithes straight from workers’ salaries before their money gets to the bank.
The Archbishop of Kampala, Cyprian Kizito Lwanga proposed the upfront deduction of tithe from the income of church members during a Sunday Mass held at his cathedral in Uganda.
Archbishop Lwanga dissed Catholics and Christians in general for not paying the right tithe as commanded in the Bible.
He is reported to have stated at the Sunday Mass that;
‘Whenever we ask for tithe, everyone gives only what they have at that time. But the Bible says a tenth of whatever you earn belongs to the church.’
Archbishop Lwanga has suggested the Ugandan government should be allowed to collect tithe on behalf of the church similar to the system in Germany.
‘I was told Germans made agreements with their government to deduct monthly tithe from their salaries and forward it to the church and this money they use to build and renovate their churches’.
He noted that in Germany, the government was responsible for taking the tithe directly from the salaries of Catholics, adding the system was ‘working very well.’
Kasatintin.com’s investigations reveal that the German church tax – 8 or 9 per cent of one’s salary – raised £5.4 billion ($7 billion) in 2017 alone.
The adoption of the German church tax could help the Ugandan Catholic church raise substantial funds to support church projects and essential activities.
But Archbishop Lwanga’s suggestion has not gone down well, with Catholics protesting that giving to the Church should be voluntary.
Protestant pastors have also responded vehemently to Archbishop Lwanga’s proposal, stating such an idea was ‘driven by greed.’
The Ugandan Archbishop has fired back at critics explaining his comments were misunderstood.
Archbishop Lwanga argued 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.
SOURCE: Kasatintin.com
Editor’s Note: Article first published on Kasatintin.com on October 3, 2019. Post written with extra material from catholicherald.co.uk
