1. they are in reality auxiliary bishops (GOA, AOCCA, esp), in other words, they can be yanked around themselves by foreign overlords, or
2. they’re compromised.
when you look at the crop of the most recent “metropolitans” (i.e. after 2000) in the GOA and some of the up-and-comers, then you can see that the secular elites which control the purse-strings have purposely chosen men that they can manipulate.
]]>The actuality is very capricious, it’s the “golden boy” priests who get rewarded by their bishop who tells the parish council “that’s the way it is: 11 years, $80K. Pay him or I’ll yank him.”
]]>My parish just went through the process of welcoming a new priest. We had been preparing for some time for this, and discussed it in our budget plans at Parish Council. We followed the guidelines given us by the Metropolis without objection.
Certainly, few people go into the ministry because they are motivated by money. If they do, then I think that calls their priestly vocation into question if not their financial acumen.
That said, nowhere is it written that a priest must work for a salary that does not allow him to provide for his family, educate his children, and provide for a more or less secure retirement (as much as all that is possible these days). Certainly, any priest living with his family in near poverty is a disgrace to a Church that has been blessed by many material riches in this country.
If a priest with 11-15 years of demonstrated, commendable experience is earning at the recommended salary guideline above, that’s not what I would call exorbitant. And let’s remember that all of these things are negotiable within the range indicated. There are good priests and there are not so good priests. Reward the good ones.
The National Herald article also is silent on another issue which should be noted. Priests sometime live a transient life; they can be turned out by their parish or (with a little of that tixera from disgruntled parishioners) yanked around by their bishop. Sometimes this may happen through no fault of the priest. To the extent that these guidelines provide stability and security for good priests and their families, that’s a good thing.
Anyone expecting a priest to take a vow of poverty before taking a parish job should first take that vow for himself.
]]>If anything, the total system is capricious. It looks good on paper (5 weeks vacation? I’ve never known a priest to take that), but its probably all hogwash. The only generalization that can be made from this is that if the priest plays by the rules and he’s some bishop’s golden boy, then the remunceration package kicks in. If not, too bad.
I’ve known too many GOA priests to know that the above package is not operative.
]]>Real people may have to tighten their belts but Church adminstrations, archdiocesan adminstrators etc are immune from such realities. When was the last time you saw the Church cut spending? How much has the Archdiocesan budget or your local budget increased in the last 10 years? All this talk of minimum salaries but do we dare talk about maximum salaries?
If people do not watch out their may be a backlash in all of this. The spectacle of a excessively rich clergy class will do nothing but harm the Church.
Instead of all this crazy salary fixing (which amounts to a fancy form of welfare and I would argure risks corruption) why not simply let the free-market decide what clergy are paid. Of course there should be a minimum standard with sound benefits etc but after that the process should be based on sound free market principles and hard work.
Why not tie clergy salaries to how a priest performs and grows a parish rather than who the clergy-man knows or is connected to?
]]>