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March 2016 Posts

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Is the parish expected to give the pastor and secretary a bonus at Christmas?

Posted by: Alice L. Camille   🕔 Monday 14, March 2016 Categories: Church History,Doctrines & Beliefs

Full disclosure: I was a parish secretary, so I have a personal investment in this question. "Expected" is a telling word in your query. Since a bonus is a gift, and a gift is not obligatory, the short answer is no. The parish isn't obliged to offer a gift to anyone at Christmas or at other times.

But does that absolve the parish from considering doing so? Canonically speaking, church law says this: "The Christian faithful are obliged to assist with the needs of the Church so that the Church has what is necessary for divine worship, for apostolic works and works of charity, and for the decent sustenance of ministers." (Canon 222—my emphasis. See also c. 231 and 1286 regarding the same for lay workers.) Unless things have changed drastically since I sat at the front desk, I can assure you parish staff members are not lavishly compensated for their labor. Many are glorified volunteers, work part-time without benefits, or accept modest salaries for the privilege of serving the parish. While service is its own reward in many ways, justice requires that folks can make a livelihood and provide for their families. 

Many dioceses have a recommended pay scale as a standard for positions across their parishes. Such a rate can be modest according to the means of a wealthy parish and still entirely out of the question in a poorer one. To make up for the lack of parity, many pastors offer other forms of compensation to make a parish position more appealing: say, more personal time off, or flexible hours. A bonus at Christmas or after a special assignment is another way to let your staff know they're appreciated. I remember spending a month redrawing the map of the parish cemetery, locating graves long obscured or lost. I received a bonus for this, since the cemetery beat wasn't normally a part of my job description. I would have done it anyway when asked.  But it was nice to go home with that extra check.

Most of us in parish work appreciate this isn't Wall Street. We're not here to make a killing. The diocesan priest salary is measly compared to any other professional career scale. While I'd look twice if the pastor gives himself bonuses without oversight, once the finance council clears it, that's enough for me. As for most parish secretaries, who are the backbone of parish life, I'd say give them a bonus. And flowers on Valentine's Day. And take them to dinner on their birthdays....

Scripture: Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9-12; Matt 10:9-10; Luke 10:7;  1 Timothy 5:17-18

Books: The Laborer is Worthy of His Hire: A Survey of Priestly Compensation in the Roman Catholic Dioceses of the United States - William P. Daley (National Federation of Priests' Councils, 1999)

Catholic Parish Administration: A Handbook - Paul F. Peri (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2012)

 

I recently became a Freemason but feel a calling to be a priest. Do I have a canonical impediment?

Posted by: Alice L. Camille   🕔 Monday 07, March 2016 Categories:

In using the term "canonical impediment," I suspect this is a trick question from a bored seminarian. But let's play it straight with the answer. In the 1917 Code of Canon Law it states: "Those who join a Masonic sect or other societies of the same sort, which plot against the Church or against legitimate civil authority, incur excommunication.” (See canon 2335)

Under this older Code, Masonic membership would definitely interfere with a priestly vocation since you'd be excommunicated from the church. However, a more recent version of Canon Law from 1983 supersedes that code. It states: "A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an interdict.” (canon 1374)

The new code doesn't mention Freemasonry. It's been concluded by some Catholics that belonging to the Masons is now acceptable. To clarify the matter, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) under then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger issued the “Declaration on Masonic Associations” shortly after the 1983 Code. The Declaration states that "the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic associations remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and, therefore, membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful, who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion."

Pope John Paul II added that it was “not within the competence of local ecclesiastical authorities to give a judgment on the nature of Masonic associations” that would contradict the CDF. Some U.S. bishops question whether the CDF, which is not the Vatican’s juridical body, is competent to interpret canon law.

In the section of Canon Law dealing with impediments to ordination, (canons 1040-1043), only membership in forbidden organizations that can be shown to lead to apostasy garners a mention. Fair to say most U.S. bishops wouldn't ordain a man belonging to the Masons. If a bishop chose to do so, a succeeding bishop could place the priest under an interdict preventing him from functioning. Best advice for one so conflicted? Quit the Masons and pursue ordination.


Scriptures: Mark 3:23-25; Luke 9:23-25; Romans 14:19—15:6

Books: The Code of Canon Law: A Text and Commentary - edited by James Coriden et. al. (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1985)

The Theology of Priesthood - edited by Donald J. Goergen, OP, and Ann Garrido (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000)

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