Seville, Spain, May 5, 2008 / 15:32 pm
The archbishop of Seville, Cardinal Carlos Amigo Vallejo, said last week that “from a moral point of view,” Catholics cannot neglect their obligation to economically support the Church, “and much less so for reasons that are not serious.”
During a press conference on the Archdiocese of Seville’s financial report for 2007, the cardinal explained the moral obligation of all Catholics to contribute financially to the Church.
He called on the faithful not to fall in to the “irresponsibility” of not designating the 0.7% of their income to the Church on their tax returns because they don’t like their pastor or because their parish has changed Mass times. Such reasons for not contributing would be “unacceptable,” he said.
Cardinal Amigo said the Archdiocese of Seville is facing a “worrisome” economic situation that will require a greater effort to meet the financial challenges of the Church’s commitment to the poor and the needy. Last year the archdiocese gave $7.5 million to Caritas for work with the poor.