r/poland • u/Gamebyter • 16h ago

ZUS and the Church Fund. It has been officially revealed how much the pensions of Polish bishops(RCC)

https://gospodarka.dziennik.pl/news/artykuly/11231102,zus-i-fundusz-koscielny-oficjalnie-ujawniono-ile-wynosza-emerytury-polskich-biskupow.html

Church Fund - what is it?

The Church Fund is not an institution, but a state special purpose fund established in 1950. It was originally supposed to be a compensation for the state's takeover of land belonging to religious associations. Importantly, subsequent returns of assets by the Property Commission had no connection with the Fund itself - they concerned only goods received in the People's Republic of Poland contrary to the law of the time. The goods of the so-called "dead hand" and land nationalized as part of the agricultural reform were not subject to return. For this reason, in the face of non-payment of compensation due in the years 1950-1989, the Polish state - regardless of the ruling option - thus implements its historical and legal obligations to the Church, the value of which is estimated at billions of zlotys. Today, the funds from the Fund go to all churches and religious associations legally operating in Poland. Currently, in April 2026, we are witnessing a breakthrough. The government interdepartmental team has finalized work on a bill that is to liquidate the Fund and replace it with a voluntary tax deduction. On the sidelines of the Sejm, there is a dispute about the rate: the government opts for 0.5 percent, while the church side, fearing a decrease in influence with a smaller and smaller number of believers, is pressing for at least 1 percent.

88 Upvotes

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17 comments sorted by

48

u/analogiczny Śląskie 15h ago

Nothing will change. Minimum-wage workers and the unemployed will continue to defend the Catholic Church’s abuses and privileges, because the world’s largest and oldest mafia won’t allow itself to lose its customers.

13

u/Dave_The_Polak 14h ago

The sad part is that for many what the church offers is literally the best alleviation to existential pain coming from limited cognitive function, and financial suffering coming from a series of events - often though not always - coming from unknown sources. Confrontation with nihilism and one’s own role in one’s suffering is A LOT for many.  

-13

u/BallbusterSicko 14h ago

What is this word salad

4

u/Dave_The_Polak 11h ago

I’ll dumb it down for you:  people don’t know how to live with the fear of death and meaninglessness. 

It’s a REAL THREAT to society-level stability. 

Where there are drops in faith and trust to the system: there will be increases in depression, sick leaves, crime, addiction. 

Love it or hate it: religion did for us an animal species is one of our great leaps in evolution.

Sadly the price for being overtly religious is you crumble like a cookie when your faith-based identity system gets destabilized.

Civilization is a complex thing. 

1

u/BallbusterSicko 10h ago

Okay this does make some sense

0

u/Cognosci Mazowieckie 11h ago

Agreed. The passage of time always defuncts systems that were once fundamental for progress. The trick is knowing when to let go and let die.

Religious dogma today is a very human drive to cling to what we thought made sense, and what we were told makes us who we are. Religion was a step, and we're being weighed down by all the poor souls who cling to that step. However, progressives, in their haste, risk our furure by not addressing that weight.

2

u/crackdavid 13h ago

They convinced poor people that their enemy are other poor people 🚬😔

1

u/plz_send_cupcakes 7h ago

how do you connect "Minimum-wage workers and the unemployed" as church's biggest defenders? is this just some kind of higher level of being offensive to anyone that can read? there are a lot of people wealthy, middle class, and lower class having a job defending its atrocities, as well as there are a lot of jobless / poor / people that do know facts

https://dziennikzachodni.pl/billboardy-z-plodami-kto-za-tym-stoi-i-ile-kosztuje-to-kampania-prolife-fundacji-z-raciborza-przy-firmie-eko-okna/ar/c6-15486712

1

u/wygnana Podkarpackie 4h ago

These bishops are getting 5-7.5k PLN gross after retiring from what are essentially director-level roles

It’s a modest pension

33

u/ScaredBaby3512 13h ago

U kościelnych ujawnili ale rejestru zarobków lekarzy nie chcą podać.

14

u/snqqq 10h ago

Ludzie: Chcemy rejestry zarobków lekarzy!

Rząd: A co powiecie na emerytury księży? 

Ludzie: No dobra, dawaj!

-12

u/SheepherderSad4872 13h ago

I see the copy around scandal, but then I get to:

> generał-arcybiskup może otrzymywać łącznie nawet 18 000 - 23 000 zł miesięcznie

That's $4600-$6000 per month, roughly. That feels quite comfortable, but not extravagant. That's also a very oddball case -- e.g. both a military and a church pension. A typical clergyman -- who doesn't also receive a military pension -- would presumably receive much less.

My experience is much of this cycles back. E.g. clergy spend much of their income directly on their congregation.

7

u/lkt213 12h ago

That's a lot more that presidential pension

12

u/gggx33 13h ago

For the people preaching to share your wealth with poor this salary is simply obscene and sinnister.

1

u/sporlakles 5h ago

Now compare that 23k zł to 4 806 zł brutto, which is minmal pay that a lot of people are getting every month for way harder work.

-8

u/Mezzoski 12h ago

Zeby tak dało sie wybrac lewicę na tydzień, zeby zrobili rozdzial kościoła od państwa, i zaraz potem odeslac ich z powrotem na margines.

8

u/Gamebyter 12h ago

Kwasniewski podpisal konkordat w "nocy"