Do Mass enrollment cards constitute simony?

[toknowservelove]

I have a hard time not seeing Mass enrollment cards as a form of simony. You can ask for a Mass at a parish, and if you can afford it, you should pay a stipend. But enrollment cards, usually sold by congregations and religious communities, are not a “free will” offering. They come with a price tag. And I don’t think you can say you’re paying for the “card” and not for the enrollment in the Masses. That’s just semantics. Can you help me out?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

I pulled up a page of Mass enrollment cards off the Internet. As you can see, the language used is not that of obligation. This religious community, as but one example, states that:

The suggested offering is $10 for each individual enrollment requested and $25 for each family enrollment requested (emphasis added).

The same qualifier of “suggested” is used throughout the page. I can only conclude from this that someone with a genuine hardship could call the community, explain that he is unable to pay, and ask that someone be enrolled. He may not get a card to give to the person, but he should be able to have that person remembered at Mass.

Generally speaking, money for the enrollment does indeed pay for notification cards. It also helps to defray the costs to the community of offering the Mass (e.g., supplies used at Mass, facilities used to say Mass). Anything left over likely goes to the support of the community, which may depend on such alms for its living.