While press conference August 16 prime minister Donald Tusk informed that he and Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz had arranged a meeting new regulation of the methods of financing the Church by the state. – After all, these billions that go to various Churches, in various ways, are not the Church Fund. The Church Fund, well over 90 percent of these funds, is retirement and disability insurance, which will be implemented by those who currently benefit from it – added the head of government.
“Pathological financing”. Donald Tusk wants changes in the Church Fund
Donald Tusk reminded that the obligation to maintain retirement and disability benefits of priests, monks and nuns is already regulated by law. – This is the reason why we will discuss the tax deduction model, various variants, so that the faithful decide whether and to what extent they want to finance their own Churches – added the Prime Minister. He emphasized that he was not interested in leading to a “spectacular war”.
– This is about a solution that will first and foremost eliminate the very often pathological financing and financial empires, because the Churches are not there to do this, and one priest director in particular, is not there to accumulate gigantic amounts of capital and run big businesses – commented Donald Tusk.
The government will take a closer look at institutions that received money during the PiS era
– There are no longer these wide open channels for the flow of millions and hundreds of millions of zlotys to businesses, and not to churches de facto – stated the head of the Council of Ministers. – Such institutions as the one run by Father Tadeusz Rydzyk will of course also be subject to control where public money went – he said.
Donald Tusk expressed his conviction that “without the interpenetration of the authorities and the Church, in this purely social form, [Kościół] “We want to clear it of this ambiguity and this fascination with money of some people of the Church,” the Prime Minister summed up.