Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg, president of the German bishops’ conference, presents a statement to the media at the opening of the bishops’ fall meeting Sept. 24 in Fulda, Germany. The German bishops’ conference defended its controversial decree that said Catholics who stop paying a church membership tax cannot receive sacraments. Introduced in the 19th century, the membership tax earns the German church about $6 billion annually. (CNS photo/KNA-Bild) (Sept. 26, 2012) See GERMANY-TAX (UPDATED) Sept. 26, 2012.