How can a clergy person have more then one job?

[sidetrack]

I dont understand how is it that a clergy person can have more then one job.Is’nt just being a clergy person a job that can really keep one busy?.Would’nt having another job interfere with the one the person already has and vice versa?.

 

[puzzleannie]

don’t know to what you refer. Certainly many ordained men have more than one “job”, just as do many non-ordained persons. In this diocese at least a third, maybe half the pastors of parishes also have diocesan assignments. The vicar general, chancellor, head of seminary, rectors for priests, religious, an holders of at least a dozen other assignments are also pastors of parishes. At least half the other pastors also have missions, or are responsible for more than one parish, amounting to at least 2 full time jobs. can you clarify the context of your question?

 

[Brendan]

Almost all ‘permanent’ Deacons do.

And there is a software tester in my company who is an Orthodox priest.

 

[SunnaB16]

I dont understand how is it that a clergy person can have more then one job.Is’nt just being a clergy person a job that can really keep one busy?.Would’nt having another job interfere with the one the person already has and vice versa?.

Thanks be to God, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have a male-only priesthood!
Referring to a priest is a lot less clumsy than referring to a "clergy person".
Where`s it going to end?

 

[MarkThompson]

Referring to a priest is a lot less clumsy than referring to a "clergy person".

But “priest” also excludes deacons, so they’re not really synonymous terms.

 

[Domnall]

But “priest” also excludes deacons, so they’re not really synonymous terms.

Agreed, I’m pretty sure that is what the O.P. was referring to.

Everyone, just chill

 

[oneGODoneCHURCH]

Agreed, I’m pretty sure that is what the O.P. was referring to.

Everyone, just chill

could have jsut said priest and decans, as we do not have female decons either. no reson for trying to be politicly correct by useing clergy persons or could have just said “clergy”.

 

[LilyM]

I dont understand how is it that a clergy person can have more then one job.Is’nt just being a clergy person a job that can really keep one busy?.Would’nt having another job interfere with the one the person already has and vice versa?.

The Pope has several jobs - he is head of the Church, and secular head of state of Vatican City (which is independent and autonomous).

At the same time is Bishop of Rome and fulfils the functions of any other bishop (he does confirmations and things like that, for example, as any bishop would).

On top of all that he’s a ‘clergyperson’ like any other, with the tasks that involves. John Paul 2, for example, used to put time in hearing confessions in St Peters. Apparently one woman fainted upon finding out that it was His Holiness hearing her confession

So - do all these jobs make the Pope a super-busy man? Absolutely. Do any of them interfere with his performance of any of the others? I haven’t heard any complaints on that score, so I’m guessing not.

 

[PacoG]

To address two postings…first

Thanks be to God, the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have a male-only priesthood!
Referring to a priest is a lot less clumsy than referring to a "clergy person".

Amen to correcting OP’s use of the word clergyperson. All clergy in the Catholic and Orthodox churches are men.

Secondly, the use of the suffix -person is a coined and improper. At least, that’s what the AP Stylebook used to say when I was in journalism. If it’s in reference to men who are ordained (as in what Catholic and Orthodox churches have) or male protestant ministers, the correct term is “clergyman.” If its in reference to female protestant ministers, its clergywoman. In either case or as a general reference to a mixed sex group, the correct term is “clergy.”

Not all Catholic clergy are priests. While bishops and priests are priests, deacons aren’t. Just a friendly reminder.

Now to the one that needs addressing…

I dont understand how is it that a clergy person can have more then one job.Is’nt just being a clergy person a job that can really keep one busy?.Would’nt having another job interfere with the one the person already has and vice versa?.

As far as deacons go, they are allowed to be married and have a family. As a deacon on EWTN has said: deacons are both in the world and in orders so the job outside the church is also helpful to their ordained ministry.

As to priests, what Puzzleannie writes is true. Furthermore, not all priests have pastoral charism. Some are college professors (like my friend and former DePaul University president Fr. Jack Minogue) and scientists (like the physicist who developed the Big Bang Theory, Monsignor Georges Lemaître). Other priests are doctors, lawyers and teachers. Some minister to people’s spiritual needs in other ways like Fr. John Corapi (who is an itinerant preacher) or the priests who work at the Vatican who keep the Church operating. All these men are priests (who celebrate the Eucharist and administer the sacraments while holding other jobs). EWTN’s Fr. Robert Levis once said that it is amazing to have conversations with priests who are also scientists because they comfortably traverse the entire spectrum of physics and metaphysics.

Bishops are both bishops and other jobs. Not all bishops have the charism to be residential, diocesean bishops who minister and pastor the people of God. Some run seminaries and colleges. Some work at the curia in Rome, keeping this huge church of 1 billion people operating and on task.

 

[JReducation]

Among Catholics, TAC and Orthodox the proper term is cleric, not clergy person.

To answer the OP, clerics can do many different jobs. Not all clerics are assigned to parishes. In fact, only 2/3 are. The other 1/3 are teachers, administrators, formators, retreat masters, itinerant preachers, chaplains, religious superiors, janitors, technicians and more.

In my own community, we have 40 clerics, but only one works at a parish. The others work in pregnancy centers, teaching, homeless shelters, cooks, gardners, formators, administrators, therapists, social workers and anything that has to do with the poor.

Diocesan clergy are never consecrated religious. Whether they are deacons or priests, they are off-duty at 4:30 pm. Anything that they do in the evening is planned well in advance. Hospital and sickcalls are on rotations. Each diocesan priest is on duty on a given day and night. They are not all on duty. When you have several parishes in the vicinity of one hospital, each parish takes care of their own sick. Usually, the parish that is closest to the hospital will have a man on duty for emergency calls when the priest of the other parishes cannot be reached.

If a diocesan priest is assigned to a parish, he is off-duty when his day comes to an end, just like any other professional person. Many of these men take on other jobs or volunteer in other areas.

I work for the diocesan office for Respect Life. We have a priest who is full-time university professor and moonlights at a parish on weekends. He also volunteers on the Board of Advisors for Respect Life and he serves on several organizations in his field of science. He can do this, because the average college professor teaches 15 to 20 hours a week. He’s a diocesan priest. He has no community obligations.

A priest who is ALSO a religious has community obligations. He’s not on duty 24/7 either. His day is over at a certain time. Until the next morning, he is a religious. He has duties assigned to him by his community. These may include cooking, cleaning, be a novice master, vocation director, serving on the community council, serving as the local superior, working in special projects that his community may run.

Deacons are also clerics. Most of them work full-time secular jobs and part-time parish jobs. They also have their wives and children to care for. This is also the case for the married priest. He often has to work several jobs to support his family. A parish salary is not much. The average salary for a parish priest is about 30K a year. The rest are gven to him in benefits. Those priests who do not live at a rectory, don’t have thos benefits, but still have the living expenses that they must cover, as well as their own retirement, pay their taxes, FICA and even support an aging parent.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF