“La Iglesia seguirá realizando su actividad pastoral y asistencial” al margen de la decisión sobre el pago del IBI, afirma Giménez Barriocanal
The Church will continue to carry out its pastoral and welfare activities regardless of the decision on IBI payments
The EEC Vice-Secretary for Economic Affairs spoke at conference on the governance of ecclesiastical entities.
"The Church will in any case continue to carry out the pastoral and welfare activities that are proper to her. At a time when society needs these services so much, the most sensible thing would be not to put obstacles to its action". Fernando Giménez Barriocanal, vice-secretary for Economic Affairs of the Spanish Episcopallecture , made these declarations in the School of Canon Law of the University of Navarra, with reference letter to the proposal of some political parties to apply the IBI to the real estate of the Church.
Giménez Barriocanal explained that in the Church there are some 40,000 different institutions and, therefore, "it is not easy to know the issue of properties affected and the amount that the payment of the tax could bring". However, he stressed that the amount that the Church would have to pay for this tax "would not produce a significant relief" to the coffers of the State.
For his part, Professor Jorge Otaduy, director of high school Martín de Azpilcueta of campus Pamplona, recalled that the exemption of the IBI "is not a privilege of the Catholic Church: in general, it does not apply to the properties of public administrations and non-profit entities".
"A state governed by the rule of law does not unilaterally breach international treaties."
In the case of the Church, he indicated that this condition has been received through the Patronage Law of 2002 and other recent regulations, in addition to the agreement on Economic Affairs between the Holy See and Spain. "Requiring the payment of the IBI could only be done through a new law of the Spanish Parliament. It would imply a modification of the agreement, according to the rules established by international law. A state governed by the rule of law does not unilaterally breach international treaties," he stressed.
conference Fernando Giménez Barriocanal and Jorge Otaduy took part in a study on the patrimonial governance of ecclesiastical entities, organized by the group of research on the Support of the Catholic Church (GISIC) of the School of Canon Law of the University of Navarra. The activity, directed by Professor Diego Zalbidea, brought together bursars and staff of the Administration of numerous Spanish dioceses.
Other speakers included Jesús Miñambres, professor at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome); Ángel Ciappi, director of development and Stewardship of the Archdiocese of San Juan (Puerto Rico); and Yago de la Cierva, University Secretary of IESE's campus Madrid and director executive of workshop World Youth Day Madrid 2011.