Sorry Paul, but you are wrong about the coercian thing. My wife is free to pay her tithing on her own if and when she chooses. She also chooses to go to tithing settlement with the Bishop and chooses to partake in the blessings that come with being a full tithe payer and following the commandments of God. I on the other hand receive a statement every month with an envelope to send in my donation to the Catholic Church, they inform me if I fall behind in my donations and send me new envelopes every few months. I am committed to pay at least $5000.00 - $6000.00 per year and have been since they came to my home requesting this amount yearly. Since I am a good Catholic I committed myself to pay, thinking it was a one time thing, but it turned out to be a yearly commitment and has been going on for 4 years now. They still do not allow me to go to confession or partake of the Eucharist because I am divorced. So I pay and do not even receive the blessings that my wife receives for paying her tithing.
I am feeling quite defensive of the LDS now after being treated this way by the Catholics, and you have nothing to defend about the Catholic Church in regards to donations. The Mormons also have many who do not pay tithing and are still good members. They are not forced, but voluntarily pay their share if they want to. No one knows which ones are full tithe payers and which ones aren’t except the person themselves. It is their free choice to pay or not. I don’t feel it is my free choice with the Catholic Church at all, they actually come to my home and coerce me to pay along with the bills they send me. I ask for an accounting and they have no accounting, but eventually send me a hand written note of what I have paid(usually wrong) and they deduct the accounting fees from the amount I have pledged.
Talk about unfair.
Sorry Grandpa, but you are completely wrong. They only send you envelopes if you sign up to have envelopes sent to you. Most parishioners in most parishes do not receive envelopes because they never signed up for them. The parish will not waste money sending envelopes to parishioners who will not use them. If you requested envelopes, then they ask you to make a commitment to pay a certain amount per week so they can budget. It can be 1 dollar or 1000 dollars - it is completely up to you. No one pressures you into anything. Also, you are asked to make a commitment every year and adjust your pledge up or down as you see fit and as your circumstances allow. I have adjusted up and I have adjusted down and never heard a word about it either way.
You get a report at the end of each quarter and at the end of the year summarizing what you paid. This is the document you should use to take the tax deduction for your donations.
If you no longer wish to receive envelopes, just call or write the parish office and tell them to stop sending the envelopes. They will stop at the end of the current quarter.
I know all this because I serve on my parish’s finance committee.
You are also wrong about why you are denied the Eucharist. No one is denied the Eucharist for getting divorced. The Church recognizes that there are often valid reasons for separation or divorce - (source:
Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2383). The problem is that you got remarried without getting your first marriage annulled. That is adultery. That is why you are denied the Eucharist, not because you are divorced. Did you even try to rectify your marriage problem with the Church before you remarried?
BTW, I don’t believe that anyone comes to your home and “coerces” you to pledge money. Do you know what the word “coerce” means? It means to force or compel, as by threats (source: Webster’s New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition). What threats did the evil Catholics use to “coerce” you to pledge $5000 - $6000 per year?
The bible teaches that the Lord loves a cheerful giver. You don’t sound very cheerful. I suggest you start being honest and contribute only what you really want to contribute.
Paul
