The Catholic Church has shared
its position on the controversial issue of payment of tithe raging in the
country.
Speaking to Punch on the matter,
the Very Rev. Msgr. Gabriel Osu, the director of Catholic Communication and the
Apostleship of Prayer League of Sacred Heart of Jesus, pointed out that tithing
was not a must and was purely voluntary in the Catholic church.
The Priest said in the Catholic
church, members are not compelled to pay the tithe.
He said, “The first mention of a
tithe in the Bible occurs in Genesis when Melchizedek, a king and a ‘priest of
God Most High,’ offered a sacrifice of bread and wine in thanksgiving for
Abraham’s victory over several enemy kings.
“As an offering to God, Abraham
gave Melchizedek ‘a tenth of everything.’ (See Genesis 14.) In the Old
Testament, the tenth of one’s bounty was customarily given to the priests in
their service to God. The Torah (the law of God as revealed to Moses)
prescribes the giving of tithes.
“A person offered to God, or
‘tithed,’ one-tenth of the harvest of the grain of the fields or the produce of
fruit of the trees, one-tenth of new pressed wine and oil, and every firstborn
animal of herd or flock (Leviticus 23 30-33.
“Deuteronomy 12:17. 14:22-29).
The Bible book of Numbers also records how God prescribed that the Levites, the
priestly class of the Jewish people, were entrusted with these tithes: (Number
18:21-24). Therefore, these tithes were contributions offered to the Lord and
distributed to the Levites for their support.
“Payment of tithe, like other
donations made in the Catholic Church, is not obligatory. This means that
members are not compelled to pay the tithe. It is purely voluntary. Also,
Catholics are under no obligation to pay a certain percentage of their income
to the church as a tithe.
“In the early history of our
church, the priests depended upon the generous support of congregations for
their sustenance. This custom was based on the New Testament instruction: Jesus
taught the apostles to depend upon charity when He sent them on a mission (see
Matthew 10:10). St. Paul also instructed the early Church community to provide
for the needs of their priests (I Corinthians 9:13).
“As cited in the Catechism (No.
2043), the precepts of the church maintain that each person has the duty to
support the material needs of the church. Of course, a person fulfils this
obligation according to his abilities.
“The Christian faithful are
obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is
necessary for divine worship, for apostolic works and works of charity, and for
the decent sustenance of ministers.
“They are also obliged to promote
social justice and, be mindful of the precept of the Lord, to assist the poor
from their own resources.”
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