The maintenance of church properties, some of which are little used, can hardly be financed for individual parishes. Selling could be a solution.
The number of people leaving the church is increasing and with them the church tax revenue is falling. Many places of worship are rarely used in the congregations – also because there is a lack of pastoral staff. The maintenance devours a lot of money at the same time. A mixed situation that has set the so-called overall strategy process in motion in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which also deals with the future handling of “real estate and pastoral care”.
This week, those responsible for the diocese will be informing full-time and voluntary workers in Munich’s Catholic communities in non-public circles about the conclusions that can be drawn from the situation. It’s also about selling buildings. It is said that the final decision will be made in the communities and by the supporting church foundations. The process is flagged up as a dialogue.
In a letter to the parishes, Cardinal Reinhard Marx recently described the considerations with the question of “how we can fulfill our mission of preaching to and for the people in word and deed with diminishing financial and human resources”.