Can religious or priests have side business?

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Like for example some catholic website and earn from ads, or maybe they sell t shirts, or anything else.

How does it go with religious?

How does it go with diocesan?
 
Yes—with permission from their religious superior or bishop. In the case of the former, the proceeds of the business would belong to the order, not the individual.
 
I know that you can find jams made by the Trappist Monks in Massachusetts, so there must be others too. These are not actually side businesses though, they help with general expenses.
 
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who decides how much time they allocate to that?

I presume in religious it’s superior?

In diocesan is bishop? Or they are left to their own judgment?
 
In the diocese, the bishop has authority. I am aware of one priest who started his own craft beer brewing business on the side, won some awards and got positive media coverage for it. The bishop shut him down.
 
The bishop or religious society superior decides. And can revoke permission at any time.
 
There are plenty of priests, and even bishops, who have written books.
 
kaneata said:
I know that you can find jams made by the Trappist Monks in Massachusetts, so there must be others too. These are not actually side businesses though, they help with general expenses.
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The Trappist beers from various Belgian monasteries are world famous.

Personally I’m a big fan of Westvleteren. Individual bottles can sometimes fetch prices that we otherwise only know from fines wines or whiskys.

I understand the recent renovation of the monastery was financed largely through beer sales.
 
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Not over papal approved religious orders like the Trappists

The provincial in Rome has authority over them

Those orders which do not have papal approval, exist at the will of the diocesan Bishop and I saw an order disbanded by a newly appointed Bishop to that dioceses.
 
The priest I mentioned was not in an order. Yes, it’s well known that orders have their own governance, which is what led to the whole conflict between the Jesuits and the local bishop about gay teachers at the Jesuit high school, among other things.

The priest I mentioned was a regular parish priest. The bishop has authority over him.
 
Yes, diocesan serve under the authority of the Bishop, but also orders which do not have Papal Approval
 
tomo_pomo said:
Like for example some catholic website and earn from ads, or maybe they sell t shirts, or anything else.

How does it go with religious?

How does it go with diocesan?
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Religious priests and brothers/sisters are often involved in a variety of apostolates (so basically work) either on their own or through their community. So for example, I know one priest who has a music ministry and does concerts, sell albums etc. The work they do obviously has to be compatible with their status as consecrated religious. Any proceeds go to their order not to the individual themselves.

For diocesan priests it’s rarer although there were of course the classical music group The Priests. Canon law requires a priest to have the permission of his bishop before doing something like this - getting permission to sell classical music is one thing, getting permission to sell tshirts is another altogether. The bishop’s concerns would obviously relate to the compatibility of the work with holy orders as well as how much time it would require and of course what costs would be involved.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
I am aware of one priest who started his own craft beer brewing business on the side, won some awards and got positive media coverage for it. The bishop shut him down.
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speaking from experience, the startup cost even for a small craft beer operation is significant. Even if you used homebrew equipment, or built your own scaled up equipment, the costs are still significant.

Now, if he had been making wine, he could have died biblical precedent! 🤣 😱 :roll_eyes:

Fr. Andrew Greeley was at rather public odds with his bishop, but continued writing novels.
 
In general no a religious cannot because they take a vow of poverty which means they may personally own nothing. On the other hand religious communities can and do. Religious communities must be self supporting therefore many have some kind of business activity that enables them to generate income. This can include making communion wafers, making incense, brewing beer, making and selling bread, writing icons, etc.

A secular (diocesan) priest does not have the same restrictions because he takes no vow of poverty. However, I would think he would need at least the tacit approval of his diocesan bishop. I am sure there is something in canon law that does place some restriction of priests being involved in business, commerce, trade, etc.
 
Sure, Paul for example continued to act as a tent maker during his apostolic ministry. And there are many pastors who work in a secular career while ministering to a parish (typically in smaller parishes where the congregation can not afford to provide a liveable salary. In addition it was common for monasteries to engage in lucrative commerce of various goods they produced in order to use the money to support the monastery and its ministries.
 
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All of the “famous internet priests” have some sort of revenue generating on their social media, either simple ads, Amazon Smile, they sell books or talks. As long as the Bishop/Order is okay with it, they are allowed to raise money.
 
A “side ministry” might be a better term than “side business”, at least among most Religious Orders.
 
TomH1 said:
A secular (diocesan) priest does not have the same restrictions because he takes no vow of poverty. However, I would think he would need at least the tacit approval of his diocesan bishop. I am sure there is something in canon law that does place some restriction of priests being involved in business, commerce, trade, etc.
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Diocesan priests may not take a vow of poverty but are expected to live a “simple” lifestyle reflecting their status as clerics. This is partly why Canon Law (can. 286) prohibits (all) priests from engaging in business or trade without the permission of their bishop/superior - such activities are considered incompatible with the clerical state (the whole in the world but not of the world idea). Besides this, there’s also the risk of such activities becoming a distraction from what he’s supposed to be doing. Of course there are plenty of priests out there engaging in varying ministries and raising money while doing so and, as long as what they’re doing is not-for-profit this generally isn’t a problem. It’s not however supposed to be a means of supplementing their stipend!
 
I agree priests should not live an extravagant lifestyle. Unlike regular priests, though, they do not surrender all personal property. It would not look edifying for a priest to be wearing a black suit from Armani, a very expensive Rolex and driving a luxury car serving in a poor inner city parish. I also knew of the canon law restriction on being involved in commerce or trade. However, there is one well-known priest on the Net who seems to exist this very way.
 
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