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Hi, guys —
My question center around the 10% tithe
and its relationship to Catholic education.
My wife and I have been tithing 10% of our gross
income to our parish and another 1-2% to other
Catholic charities. On top of that, we have
been paying for all of our children's Catholic
education including (2 kids in high school)
and (3 in grade school).
This equates to another 10-15% of my income.
We have been told by numerous friends and
colleagues that Catholic education costs
should really be counted as support to our
parish and that we should scale back our cash
contributions, percentage-wise, to our parish
in relationship
to the cost of the Catholic tuition we
have been paying. I have been reluctant to
do so because I was unclear on how the cost
of Catholic education is viewed in relationship
to the cash-giving to the parish.
- Obviously, the tuition cost is not deductible,
like the cash contributions, but should
it still be looked upon as part of the
10% tithe to the parish?
I should mention that, so far, we have been
able to afford the above arrangement, as God
has blessed us financially, however we do
make many sacrifices, others do not make,
to send our children to Catholic schools and,
of course, we have college education looming
in the very near future and, if possible, we would like
them to attend Catholic colleges.
Thank you!
Joseph
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Eric
replied:
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Hi, Joseph —
A gift is something you offer freely
not in strict exchange for any goods
or services. If you give money, even
to the parish, in exchange for an
education, for a banquet, or even
for a brownie or two, common sense
would tell you that this doesn't
count as an offering to the Lord,
because you're getting a cut of it.
The IRS wouldn't let you get away
with it, so don't cheat the Lord,
either.
That being said, there is no requirement
to tithe in the true sense of the
word (to give ten percent). The Catholic
position is merely that you must
support the Church; it does not
dictate a percentage or sum since
that will depend on the individual.
You may decide that you can't give
a full ten percent because of the
school burden but remember that
tuition goes to pay for real costs
your child incurs. I would be surprised
if parishes make a profit off
of their schools in such a way that
you are benefiting your parish monetarily
by giving money to the school.
The
monies they collect in tuition are
used to pay for educating your child
so don't deceive yourself into thinking
this is a generous gift on your part
to the parish.
Eric
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