Cologne: Archdiocese announces financial report - decline despite excess!

Cologne: Archdiocese announces financial report - decline despite excess!

Cologne has seen a significant publication of the Archdiocese this year: the financial report 2023. Under the motto "Creating values", it becomes clear that the archbishopric was able to achieve an annual surplus of around 5 million euros despite the challenging economic conditions, such as the high inflation and declining church tax revenue. However, this represents a significant decline compared to 2022, when the archbishopric was completed with 30 million euros in plus.

The main cause of the financial situation is the decline in income from church tax. These amounted to around 655 million euros in 2023, which represents a clear decline compared to the 689 million euros of the previous year. Gordon Sobbeck, an economist of the Archdiocese of Cologne, explains that the weak economic development and the challenges on the labor market are often considered essential driving forces for the decline in tax revenue. In addition, the decreasing number of church members and demographic age development has an increasing effect.

Financial use of church tax

The use of church tax resources is the focus of the report. Over 236 million euros flowed into the pastoral units, which represent the basis of the church's life on site. These funds are used for pastoral care, maintenance, personnel expenses and for numerous special projects. It is noteworthy that the yields in the church are mainly used for social and educational projects.

A significant part of the income, namely around 83 million euros, was reserved for educational and science projects. This includes not only the 33 archbishop's schools, but also the seminar and various educational initiatives. In addition, the area of Caritas received more than 60 million euros to support the operation and maintenance of over 100 consulting centers and institutions that take particular care of integration and migration.

sustainable financial perspectives

The financial situation remains worrying, not only because of the falling income, but also due to the increasing costs. Sobbeck warns of a possible financial gap of around 100 million euros by 2030, should not take a consistent countermeasure. The economic framework plan should help to address these challenges. Instead of taking a flat -rate cuts, the archbishopric wants to adjust individual household areas and thus achieve specific savings. "Each functional area should take measures to maintain future financing," emphasizes Sobbeck.

In order to ensure long -term ability to act, the archbishopric would like to start initial adjustment measures in 2025. Sobbeck is optimistic that these preventive steps will contribute to securing church life. It is a balancing act between dealing with the current financial situation and ensuring a stable future for the coming generations.

For further information on these developments and the detailed presentation of the financial situation of the Archdiocese, on a comprehensive report on www.erzbistum-koeln.de referred.