The Pope, writing in the Financial Times today:
Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all.
The EUObserver today:
The Vatican has been handed a billion euro tax break after the EU ruled that it would be “absolutely impossible” to claw back unpaid property taxes. Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia had previously ruled that the Catholic church’s exemption from paying tax on over 4,700 buildings from 2006-2011 breached competition rules.
It looks like the controversy is over whether an organization can have tax rules changed retroactively, not whether the rules were unfair and improper. I find it absurd to talk about demanding back taxes when the previous years’ taxes were handled in accordance with the previous years’ laws.
I do admit that this gets more annoying when the organization is benefiting unfairly (and producing for its directors a truly RIDICULOUS level of opulent luxury); it definitely makes it easy to argue for changing the law completely — but not retroactively.
Is there some detail of this case that your post failed to cite?