Madrid, Spain, Feb 17, 2012 / 16:05 pm
A finance official for the Spanish bishops noted that Catholic schools save the country more than $4.5 billion U.S. dollars, as they provide education for some 1.3 million students.
In comments to the Cope radio network on Feb. 16, Fernando Gimenez Barriocanal – the Vice Secretary for Economic Affairs of the Spanish bishops' conference – also noted that the Church provides “hundreds of millions” of dollars in health care, aid to immigrants and to victims of domestic violence, soup kitchens and rehabilitation for drug addicts, reported Europa Press.
He also discussed a recent poll that suggested that the Church's position in Spanish society is weakening but said the “most important poll” on public opinion is the fact that 9.2 million taxpayers in Spain make a contribution of 0.7 percent of their taxes to the Catholic Church.
In his estimation, the increasing figure is “a very important step” for the Church in the country.