The Diocese of Augsburg, Germany, criticized an entrepreneur’s offer to give families in the Starnberg area 500 euros ($577) upon the baptism of a child.
While describing Peter Löw’s offer as a “well-intentioned action,” the diocese said that “Catholic parents are obliged to have their children baptized as soon as possible and to bring them up in the Christian faith. Since there are no costs for the church celebration of baptism, the financial aspect, which is brought to the fore in the ‘Starnberg Guardian Angel’ campaign, is unlikely to be decisive.”