So now Cyprus is the latest country in the EU looking for a
bailout. And the money should come from
all the other countries in the EU who already have received bailouts.
Or it could come from the proposed tax on deposits in the
bank. So everyone who has money in the
bank, from the Russian oligarch to the Cypriot pensioner, will pay a tax of
between 6.9% and 9.9% on their money.
And the banks have been closed for a couple of days now so that people
cannot withdraw their money and make the so-called “deposit tax” lower.
Then came the following headline : “Archbishop of Cyprus
Chrysostomos has said that the assets of the Orthodox Church of Cyprus is at
the disposal of the state and can be used to save the economy of Cyprus and the
banking system.” See
http://famagusta-gazette.com/archbishop-of-cyprus-calls-for-national-bond-offers-assets-p18602-69.htm
Now maybe, just maybe, this Archbishop should be the top
candidate for the next Nobel prize in economics, if such a thing exists.
Think about it :
· Your parents
make a donation to the Church so that you can be christened
· They make
another donation when the time comes for your confirmation
· Then you
make a donation when you arrange your parents’ funerals
· Then you
make a donation when you want to get married
And that’s not counting all the contributions in between
- Sunday School, weekly Church
attendance, bequests, Easter, etc., etc.
And then your children will do the same thing. And so the cycle goes on.
During this time of financial turmoil and closed banks, the
faithful will still be attending Church and lending their support – financial
and otherwise.
Is it such a strange concept then that the Churches in a
country – and I say “the” Church and not any one particular denomination –
should assist the country and its people in the time of need ?
I say give the Archbishop an Ouzo !
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