Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
June 22, 2009

An Israeli Ministry of Finance decision to seize the funds of several Catholic institutions in Israel in order to force them to comply with taxation regulations was reversed June 8 after several hours of bewilderment. “The tax assessor was of the opinion that he should collect the relevant taxes, but as a result of consultations with the chief legal advisor of the Israel Tax Authority, it was decided that the matter fell within the framework of the status quo and the situation was rectified,” said an official with the Ministry of Finance. “The status quo as stipulated in the Fundamental Agreement between the state of Israel and the Holy See is being fully maintained by the state of Israel,” he added. Israel and the Holy See are in the final stages of negotiations on an agreement about the financial status of the church in Israel. The parties met most recently on April 30, just prior to Pope Benedict XVI’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

The 12 women whose feet were washed by Pope Francis included women from Italy, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Ukraine, Russia, Peru, Venezuela and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
"We, the members of the Society of Jesus, continue to be lifted up in prayer, in lament, in protest at the death and destruction that continue to reign in Gaza and other territories in Israel/Palestine, spilling over into the surrounding countries of the Middle East."
The Society of JesusMarch 28, 2024
A child wounded in an I.D.F. bombardment is brought to Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on March 25. (AP Photo/Ismael abu dayyah)
While some children have been evacuated from conflict, more than 1.1 million children in Gaza and 3.7 million in Haiti have been left behind to face the rampaging adult world around them.
Kevin ClarkeMarch 28, 2024
Easter will not be postponed this year. It will not wait until the war is over. It is precisely now, in our darkest hour, that resurrection finds us.
Stephanie SaldañaMarch 28, 2024