except for a few who have been hired at various jobs in the diocese, or as hospital chaplains, etc. most deacons here are retired, have income from others sources, and serve in parishes on a volunteer basis or with a small stipend and expenses covered. I don’t know of any, employed or not, who earns enough to raise a family on. Some have wives still working so they have insurance.
Until Catholics learn to tithe it will not be possible to have married priests because the average non-tithing parish does not bring enough income to support a priest with a family. This in spite of the fact that there congregations are usually much larger than neighboring Protestant or Jewish congregations who donate enough to support their pastors and rabbis in a manner comparable to the living style of the surrounding area.
