Folia Theologica 5. (1994)
Hugo Schwendenwein: Church and state in Austria
CHURCH AND STATE IN AUSTRIA 57 15. Concluding my presentation, I will show you some examples of concrete legal dispositions regarding the Catholic Church. 16. For the establishment or dissolution of a diocese, the consent of the State is required (art. Ill Concordat). When the diocese of Eisenstadt was established in 1960, the State granted subsidies, just as it did for the new dioceses of Innsbruck (1964) and Feldkirch (1968). 17. The Holy See may freely appoint Austrian bishops, with the exception of the Archbishop of Salzburg, who is elected by the Metropolitan Chapter from three candidates designated by the Holy See (art. IV Concordat). Before the appointment of a diocesan bishop or coadjutor bishop, the Government is informed of the name of the candidate considered in order to give it an opportunity to voice any objection of a general political nature it might have to this choice. But even in case negotiations with the State would not lead to consensus the Church is free to appoint that bishop (art. IV Concordat). 18. Emperor Joseph II (1780-1790) closed down most of the contemplative monasteries. With the temporal goods taken from them he established a fund for ecclesiastical purposes, especially for maintenance of the clergy. Most Austrian priests received their salaries from this fund. After the German occupation in 1938, the Nazi government dissolved this fund and suspended payment of salaries and other financial assistance to the Church. It was at that time that the Kirchenbeitragsgesetz was enacted, which has remained in force up to the present day. It introduced a church contribution scheme similar to a taxation system: every adult member of the Church has to pay a contribution in correspondence to his/her income. The amount of this contribution, or “tax”, is determined by the Church. In default of payment, the Church has recourse to State courts for execution. Under Austrian law, withdrawal from Church membership can be notified before a State official, and so a person can escape payment of the Church contribution for the future; for the time before his withdrawal, however, he can be compelled to pay. 19. In 1960, a special agreement (Vermögensvertrag, i.e. treaty concerning temporal goods) was concluded between the Holy See and the Republic of Austria, which settled the problem of economic damage inflicted by the Nazi government to the Church. Under its terms, Church property which had been confiscated by the Nazis was returned and an annu-
