Israel Will Not Seize Funds From Catholic Schools

The fiscal status of the Church in Israel is currently being negotiated between the Holy See and the State of Israel.

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) - Contrary to a notice sent to Catholic schools in Israel, the government will not seize funds destined to those institutions, reports the country's embassy to the Holy See.

AsiaNews reported today that Israel's finance minister, Yehezkel Abrahamoff, has notified educational institutions of the Church that funds were being held back until they agreed to submit to all the fiscal demands that he considered obligatory.

The fiscal status of the Church in Israel is currently being negotiated between the Holy See and the State of Israel as part of the ongoing discussions of the Fundamental Agreement, which established diplomatic relations between the two states in 1994. The announced gesture of Abrahamoff would mark a change of policy with regard to Catholic institutions in the nation.

The Embassy of Israel to the Holy See reported today, however, that the "confiscation of funds of the Ministry of Education destined to some educational institutions of the Catholic Church in Israel will not be carried out and that the situation remains unchanged."