Are priests allowed to drink alcohol?

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Jen7 said:
So what IS a parish priest’s charism? And why doesn’t he take a vow of poverty?!
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That depends.

A parish may have a pastor who is from a Religious Order (Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, etc.). Those priests have the charism of that order.

Same for vows of poverty, some orders require them.

If your priest is a secular priest (Diocesan priest), he makes promises of obedience to the Bishop every year. He takes the vow of chastity. Secular priests are not bound to poverty. They can own property, make investments, eat a nice steak and buy whiskey.
 
Actually a Vow of Poverty means having the Spirit of Poverty, not necessarily pooling their resources.

It various, but in general, those living in a monastery will live in common with the other Friars or monks and own only their personal necessities. The don’t own cars, or other material things, but it doesn’t mean they live in destition.

Diocesan priest, can own whatever they want and I’ve known some to own land and houses. They get to keep inheritances if they have any.
 
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If you go to your tax attorney and ask does the IRS recognize the vow of poverty, they will say “Yes”. Strangely enough I did. Legally and in all practicality the vow of poverty means something very specific. In all practical ways it means your are pooling resources.

Below are some resources describing its very specific meaning.
There are some religious institutes whose members are required to take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (c. 573.2). Occasionally additional vows particular to their institute are required as well. Carmelites, Dominicans, and Jesuits (to name only a few) fall into this category. Members of such institutes generally receive a small monthly stipend, perhaps $100 per month in the U.S., for personal expenses. With this tiny amount they can buy a birthday gift for a relative, or go to a restaurant occasionally for lunch, or get a pack of cigarettes. They often have full-time jobs, maybe as university professors or hospital administrators, and as such they earn full-time salaries—but they cannot touch this money as their paychecks are immediately turned over to their religious superiors. The cars they drive, the houses they live in, and sometimes even the clothes they wear are not the property of the religious themselves, for these things as a rule belong to their religious institute.
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canonlawmadeeasy.com

The Priesthood and the Vow of Poverty

Q: The pastor of my sister’s parish just bought a new car. The car he traded in was only two years old. He’s now driving one of the nicest cars in the whole parish. How can a priest keep buying n…
canonlawmadeeasy.com

In the table from the IRS link below, the “Vow of Poverty” is mentioned…

Publication 517 (2023), Social Security and Other Information for Members of the Clergy and Religious Workers | Internal Revenue Service

www.irs.gov www.irs.gov
 
The IRS could care less about you making a vow of poverty.

They look at your income and tax accordingly

Those living in religious communities don’t have an income high enough to pay taxes.

Many lay people are in the same circumstance as well.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Those living in religious communities don’t have an income high enough to pay taxes.
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A Jesuit who is a professor will be paid his full salary. It could be substantial. He hands it to the order. The IRS recognizing the vow of poverty and has clear rules for it. From the IRS document I linked…
Vow of poverty. If you are a member of a religious order and have taken a vow of poverty, you are already exempt from paying SE tax on your earnings for ministerial services you perform as an agent of your church or its agencies. You don’t need to request a separate exemption. For income tax purposes, the earnings are tax free to you. Your earnings are considered the income of the religious order.
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If the priest like the Jesuit you mention is mandated to hand over his income to the order, then what he earned is not his, but the order’s.

So, the IRS would not view it as his income, but only the salary the order pays him.
 
More importantly it means detachment from material things. At least that’s the intent.
 
1ke said:
Of course they can! Why couldn’t a priest buy alcohol? We are not puritans!
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To be clear, the puritans were not teetotalers (a term that wouldn’t occur for centuries), and a typical breakfast was beer and bread . . .
 
Jen7 said:
So what IS a parish priest’s charism? And why doesn’t he take a vow of poverty?! Doesn’t he take a vow of chastity and obedience to the Bishop??
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As I understand it, Parish Priests not attached to a religious community make promises, not vows.
 
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So are there any “checks” in place to help a diocesan priest live a simple life instead of a posh one (if, say, he inherited money or made a lot in the stock market)? Or is he on his own? The thought is sad to me. I have my husband. We remind each other of our priorities & of our commitment to give generously (not just surplus) of our time, talent, & treasure. But it’s helpful to have someone else keeping me accountable! Otherwise I would probably justify spending more of our money on other things. Many diocecean priests seem to live alone. Are they just “on their honor” to live in a godly way in private? Has it always been that way?! I’m so much more familiar with religious communities that I haven’t considered this before.
 
I lean, that is true for all of us of course. But I hope bishops have a fatherly concern for their priests if they are being asked to live the “straight and narrow” in a somewhat isolated situation. We all need some community & a little human praise along the way, don’t you think?!
 
Nelka said:
I didn’t drink when my wife was pregnant just in case I needed to take her to hospital.
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A good friend of mine is pregnant and she actually forces everybody else to drink so that she doesn’t feel like she’s keeping people from having a good time.
 
Jen7 said:
So are there any “checks” in place to help a diocesan priest live a simple life instead of a posh one (if, say, he inherited money or made a lot in the stock market)?
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He’s actually not required to do so.
 
Nelka said:
Wow! I like to drink but wouldn’t want to be forced to.
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I’m exaggerating a little bit. We all enjoy our whiskey and wine and we don’t take much convincing.
 
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Nelka said:
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BartholomewB:
You could say the same thing about a medical doctor or about anyone else whose job might require them to be on call 24/7.
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True but the priest is on call 365 of the year isn’t he?

I didn’t drink when my wife was pregnant just in case I needed to take her to hospital.
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@Nelka

Lol! That reminds me of my father-in-law! I went to live with my husband’s family in Absecon, New Jersey, after he was killed in a military plane crash, so that we could get to know each other better. The nearest hospital was on Atlantic Island, where Atlantic City is located, and a drawbridge connected the two pieces of land. Because we’d need to detour for many miles if his grandson chose to arrive when that drawbridge was down, and every minute would count, my father-in-law slept in fresh street clothes every night for weeks, as he started a week before the due date, and our baby was several weeks late in arriving. 😂
 
Alcohol, right next to women, is on of God’s greatest gifts to man. Like women, alcohol is given the respect that it deserves.

 
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