A reader writes:
Jimmy, I catch you occassionally on (tape-delayed) Catholic Answers Live in
Kansas City as well as on your blog. Quick question: How much is one
required to tithe?
Nice to hear from you! I know from personal experience that everything is up-to-date in Kansas City. I even know what signs are on the buildings downtown, as I’ve spent quite a number of hours shivering on the platform at the train station there, puffing my pipe while waiting for my connecting train to arrive.
Regarding your question, it depends on the sense in which one takes the question:
1) If one is really intending to tithe, then one must give a tenth–of something, typically either one’s gross or net income. Biblically, a tithe is a tenth of one’s gross income.
People who talk about "tithing" anything other than ten percent are abusing the term. "Tithe" is simply an old-fashioned word that means "tenth."
That being said . . .
2) Under current canon law, one is not require to tithe at all. Here is what the Code of Canon Law says:
Can. 222 ยง1. The
Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that
the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for the works of the
apostolate and of charity, and for the decent support of ministers.
The Catechism puts this obligation in this way:
Thus, under current Church teaching and practice, there is no obligation to tithe (give a tenth). One may choose what level one feels is appropriate given the financial realities that one is facing, whether that ammount is less or more than a tith (a tenth).
