[Nonetheless, the German bishops are advocating what some call a form of simony by refusing the sacraments and other ecclesial rights and privileges to those members who do not pay the 8% church tax.]
Bishop in Philippines rebukes priests for simony
CWN – October 29, 2012
A leading prelate in the Philippines has warned his priest against the practice of simony: offering spiritual goods for sale.
“My dear brother priests, the sacraments are not to be celebrated in exchange for money,” Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan wrote in a letter to priests. “The trafficking for money in spiritual things is simony. It is a sin.” Archbishop Villegas, who is the vice-president of the country’s episcopal conference, insisted that there “should be no prejudiced distinctions between the materially affluent and the materially deprived” in the administration of sacraments.
Additional sources for this story: “Dear priests, the sacraments are not for sale” (Vatican Insider) vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/world-news/detail/articolo/filippine-philippine-filipinas-19267/