Are Mass Stipends Necessary?

[Gorgias]

Please can you explain how taking a sentence out of context is conducive to fruitful discussion.

Certainly, although I disagree that it was “out of context”. You were responding to someone who asserted that priests live out a “vow of poverty.” You attempted to correct them by saying that priests don’t take vows. To my mind, that seemed to be easily misinterpreted to mean that while religious take vows, priests do no such thing. So, I added to your statement in order to point out that priests make promises (i.e., celibacy, obedience, prayer) as opposed to religious, who take vows.

As I do not have any recollection of saying this I wonder if you would be kind enough to refer me back to the post where I said this.

I wasn’t quoting you, I was quoting the Bible.

Of course, you seem to be asserting that, since the priesthood is a vocation, not a job, priests’ compensation shouldn’t reflect the value of their service. Hence my response.

You obviously missed the point. The point I made was that priests are not unique in the time commitment they make.

No, I got your point. For some reason, you chose to compare priests (i.e., low wages) with doctors (i.e., high wages) in terms of their time commitments. How that’s relevant in this discussion, I’m at a loss to explain, especially since you’re attempting to argue that priests shouldn’t have stipends. Now, if you were pointing out another role that has both high time commitments and low salaries, then you’d be making an interesting point. As it is, your comparison seems to fall flat…

 

[Gorgias]

I’ve known priests who were military chaplains making a very good salary

Apples and oranges, though, don’t you think? Military chaplains’ wages are based on the going rate for officers at their rank and years of service. There’s a big difference between the salary of a diocesan priest and a military chaplain, given that they have the same number of years of service.

 

[Phemie]

Apples and oranges, though, don’t you think? Military chaplains’ wages are based on the going rate for officers at their rank and years of service. There’s a big difference between the salary of a diocesan priest and a military chaplain, given that they have the same number of years of service.

The point was that some priests are paid very well and don’t take stipends, some are paid much less and take a stipend.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

Certainly, although I disagree that it was “out of context”. You were responding to someone who asserted that priests live out a “vow of poverty.” You attempted to correct them by saying that priests don’t take vows. To my mind, that seemed to be easily misinterpreted to mean that while religious take vows, priests do no such thing. So, I added to your statement in order to point out that priests make promises (i.e., celibacy, obedience, prayer) as opposed to religious, who take vows.

If you knew why I had said priests do not make vows, you comments are even more irrelevant. They certainly did not add anything constructive to the discussion.

I wasn’t quoting you, I was quoting the Bible.

Of course, you seem to be asserting that, since the priesthood is a vocation, not a job, priests’ compensation shouldn’t reflect the value of their service. Hence my response.

I have never said priests do not deserve to receive a decent salary. It’s not something that I would ever say. Consequently, I know for certain that I did not say that. When I spoke of priests having a vocation rather just a job I was referring to the time commitment they make.

No, I got your point. For some reason, you chose to compare priests (i.e., low wages) with doctors (i.e., high wages) in terms of their time commitments. How that’s relevant in this discussion, I’m at a loss to explain, especially since you’re attempting to argue that priests shouldn’t have stipends. Now, if you were pointing out another role that has both high time commitments and low salaries, then you’d be making an interesting point. As it is, your comparison seems to fall flat…

If you got the point, why have you now made two inappropriate responses to it? The comparison I made was not to compare what a priest and a doctor earn. I mentioned doctors as an example of another profession that makes a significant time commitment.