(Fr. Joachim Heimerl. LifeSite).
Anyone who is baptized and confirmed and who professes the faith of the Church is Catholic. In Germany, as is so often the case, things are quite different. Here, you are only Catholic through the church tax, at least if you are a taxpayer.
This tax is by no means voluntary but a compulsory levy which – thanks to Adolf Hitler – is collected by the state and paid directly to the Church; even back payments and advance payments are mandatory.
It is clear that the church tax is an imposition: membership in the Church should not be dependent on monetary payments.
Nevertheless, German practice is rigorous: anyone who does not want to pay can only declare their “withdrawal from the Church” (“Kirchenaustritt”) at the registry office, even though this “withdrawal” does not exist under canon law.