A choice of freedom

A Church that is supported by the financial co-responsibility and the commitment of the faithful, based on the model of the first Christian communities; this is the animating principle of “ Sovvenire” (Taking care)- regulating economic support to the Catholic Church in Italy, established with the revision of the Concordat between the State and the Church that took place in 1984. The new system was implemented twenty years ago, its adoption was addressed in 1988 by the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) in the letter “ Sovvenire alle necessità della Chiesa. Corresponsabilità e partecipazione dei fedeli” (Taking care of the needs of the Church. Co-responsibility and participation of the faithful). On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary, Italian bishops issued a new letter “ Sostenere la Chiesa per servire tutti” (Supporting the Church to serve everyone). On the occasion, diocesan coordinators of financial support to the Church convened for a national conference in Rome (October 20-23) on “Twenty years of the journey of “ Sovvenire“. From diocesan spirituality to the economic life of the parish”. A choice of freedom. The current mechanism regulating financial support to the Church in Italy “is based on faith”, and “when the Church is faithful to its people, she is usually paid back”, declared cardinal Attilio Nicora, President of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (Apsa) who in the Eighties was one of the pioneers of this system (in 1984 he was appointed co-president on the ecclesial representation of the Italo-Vatican commission in charge of preparing, in the framework of the revision of the Concordat, the reform of regulations on ecclesial property and bodies). The Cardinal voiced the importance of “preserving the enthusiasm for being a Christian community that is capable of supporting itself with conviction and with the force of participation”, and to revive “the profound harmony with people, that is one of the secrets to the success of the new system”. His Eminence appealed to the co-responsibility of the faithful, since “the first responsibility enabling the living Church to operate belongs to the Church herself, and not to the State”. “There certainly are many reasons motivating State intervention, but this is not the founding one”. Rather, it is necessary “to look ahead in full awareness that this has been a choice of freedom”. Starting anew from the motivations. While the first decades marked the creation and consolidation of the new system, the forthcoming one is “the decade of elaboration”, where each party involved is asked to “dedicate renewed consideration to the underlying motivations” of “Sovvenire” underlined Msgr. Pietro Farina, bishop of Alife-Caiazzo and President of the Committee for the promotion of financial support to the Catholic Church. Msgr. Farina conveyed the different forms of support to the Church, as they are reaffirmed in the letter of the bishops, recalling that they entail a specific “value order” that gives primary importance “to the offering of the widow along with the deliberate and heartfelt offering”. There are also the “offerings that are tax-deductible to the Central Institute for the Support to the Clergy, that for this reason ensure the Church a certain degree of financial support”. Lastly, the tax return statement envisages the possibility of devoting “eight per thousand” (8 euros per each one thousand euros of taxpayers’ income) to the Catholic Church. This choice, “which does not entail an expense, constitutes an act of coherence with one’s faith”. By giving “a serene and positive evaluation” of the steps undertaken in the past twenty years, the responsible of the relative CEI department, Paolo Mascarino, guarded against the risk of inuring. “We must not stop”, he said. This system has “no guaranteed minimums”, and if there were no signatures and offerings the Church would receive no financial support”. Aid for the Third World. The sums collected by the Italian Church are for supporting priests, pastoral and worship needs, for charity and to cover the expense of Church cultural property. Through the CEI Committee for charitable interventions for Third World Countries, part of the funds go to Poor Countries covering the expenses of a number of projects: schools, hospitals, care homes etc. It is the case of Liberia, where from 2004 to date, 4500 children returned to school thanks to a project to which the Church contributed 200 thousand euro. The sum enabled the Jesuit Refugee Service to reinstate 60 school buildings and provide training to 85 teachers. In Ruanda, in Congo’s Democratic Republic and in Burundi, “education to peace” courses were promoted, organized by the Community of Sant’Egidio for pupils aged 16-37, where they learned that there are alternatives to war. Still in Ruanda, health projects, concerning pediatric and orthopedic surgery and for the rehabilitation of the disabled were carried out. While the youth from all ethnic groups and religious traditions learn to live together in the “Giovanni Kamenge Centre”. Finally, in Bangkok (Thailand), the 8 per thousand contribution has enabled the erection of a network of care homes, oases of peace for exploited children.