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29 May 2007
BRUSSELS – The federal government granted more than EUR 80 million last year to the various religions recognised in Belgium for the payment of priests and other clergymen. La Dernière Heure reported this on Tuesday on the basis of information from Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx.
The Catholic Church received just over EUR 79 million in 2006. The next largest payout went to the Protestants (EUR 3.554 million), followed by the Christian Orthodox (EUR 1.16 million), the Jews (EUR 829,000), the Anglicans (EUR 310, 627) and the Muslims (EUR 69,000).
In addition to this, some EUR 2.556 million in end-of-year bonuses and some EUR 310,000 for price-of-living adjustments to certain salaries was also paid out.
The total amount has not risen or fallen sharply over the past years, but that could change with the future appointment of a number of imams.
[Copyright Expatica News 2007]
Subject: Belgian news