THE CHURCH IN GERMANY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 60, 3 December 1937, Page 5

THE CHURCH IN GERMANY

Efiort to Make it State Organ Given Up FISCAL RIGHTS WITHDRAWN (Received 3, 8.45 a.m.) BERLIN, Deo. 2. Herr Kerrl, the German Minister for •Qhurch Affairs, in a speech at Hagen, indicated that the German Government has finally gjiven up its effort to turn the Church into a State organ or permeate its doctrine with Nazism. "The Government," he said, "does not intend to decree th© separation of the Church and the State, although a law to that end had been drafted before 1 discussed the subj.ect with Herr Hitler at the begixming' of November." Nevertheless, he added, State subsidies to th© Church and the Church's right to raise taxes would be gradually withdrawn, on the principle of equaj treatment of all religious institutions and communities in Germany. "Protestant Church circles," says the Berlin correspondent of The Times, "believe the new policy offers a chance of a reasonahle settlement of the dispute between the Church and the State. The Church may suffer through having to depend for funds on voluntary contributions from its members, but this, it is expected, will be more than compensated for by the gain in. internal strength. "It is pointed out, however, that Herr Kerrl, while he intends to cut off the Church's funds, does not intend to release it from any of its existing obligations to the State. Its legal status" as a self-governing institution, suhject to supervision by the State, remains unchanged, meaning that Herr KeiTl retains the right to interfere in at least its administrative affairs."