priests and cars

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It is none of our business and I do not begrudge priests anything. Having said that, the youth of our parish have definitely taken notice of our pastor’s penchant for the latest expensive electronic gadget and of the gaudy hot rod that he drives and they are questioning his teachings against materialism,
 
NewEnglandPries said:
Good thought but it doesn’t work that way. Each priest has his own idea of what kind of car he wants to drive so that wouldn’t work. However, we do have a group auto insurance but individual priests are also free to get their own insurance if they so choose and the insurance company is allowed to kick bad driving priests off its plan.
But while the diocese administrates and coordinates the insurance plan, it is the individual parishes that pay for it.

That would be problematic on a few levels. One is that in many dioceses the parish is a separate legal corporation from the diocese. And under canon law the parish is its own “juridic person.” You can’t just mix the money and possessions between the two.
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Yep, I can see the legalities now. Ain’t that always the case–the devil’s in the details! It would be great, though, if there was some way that a diocesan motor pool could be arranged. But I can see your point–individuals’ preferences are different, and for some men. a car is about as personal as a toothbrush! I didn’t know that canon law (as opposed to civil law) made each parish a juridic person. What you’re saying the legalities are really limits things.

Our parish priest has a leased car from the local Chevy dealership.
 
PrayForMeStJude said:
Abp. Thomas Wenski:

Bishop by day…

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gsZzuwKZf...BUE/2i6LGbHotws/s320/Bishop+Thomas+Wenski.jpg

But by night…

http://the-american-catholic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/wenski_bike.jpg
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I’m proud to call Archbishop Wenski my bishop 👍
I have a friend who is big in the pro-life movement in the Archdiocese of Miami. She told me that she was with a group praying outside of an abortion clinic. All of a sudden Archbishop Wenski rolls in on his motorcycle to join them. Cool guy.

Makes me want to join the hood, the priesthood that is.

I remember talking about this a few years ago with some people. My mom said that someone told her that a priest’s car should be determined by the parish. If it is a well of parish, he can have a nicer car, if it’s a poorer parish he shouldn’t be driving a very nice car. However, 10 years ago our parish was pretty well off and had some important people in it (from what I’ve heard) and our priest had a beat up Toyota. Ten years later he is now a bishop (not Wenski) and drives the same car.

Regarding Archbishop Wenski’s motorcycle, it comes down to hobbies. Priests are allowed to have a hobby and if his hobby is boating (I’m from Florida) or motorcycling, he should be allowed to have a boat or motorcycle as long as he uses his own money for it. And how do you know it wasn’t a gift from someone? That’s the conclusion we came to from talking about this.
 
My city is home to the only Mercedes-Benz plant in the United States. In order to road test their cars for the next model year before they’re released, they donate vehicles to our local police department and to many of the priests and ministers of our city. They get free use of the vehicle and ALL maintenance for one year, in exchange for completing a detailed survey about the car, any problems, how it performed, etc. Then, they get another new car at the beginning of the next year, and it starts all over again. A win-win for everyone. I recently saw that they’re already driving around the 2013’s. So, there are a lot more expensive cars floating around our town in unusual places then you might expect!
 
Rolltide said:
My city is home to the only Mercedes-Benz plant in the United States. In order to road test their cars for the next model year before they’re released, they donate vehicles to our local police department and to many of the priests and ministers of our city. They get free use of the vehicle and ALL maintenance for one year, in exchange for completing a detailed survey about the car, any problems, how it performed, etc. Then, they get another new car at the beginning of the next year, and it starts all over again. A win-win for everyone. I recently saw that they’re already driving around the 2013’s. So, there are a lot more expensive cars floating around our town in unusual places then you might expect!
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That is awesome!!!
I think I drove past it on my yearly drive up to Ringgold, GA/Bristol, TN-VA. I remember driving past a Benz plant, and if yours is the only one in the country, that must have been it!
 
Diocesan priests are not the same as religious ordered priests. The latter takes vows of poverty that support the charism of their order. The former have their own finances, including a rather small salary and are responsible for saving for their own retirement.

If they come from money or have inherited it, why shouldn’t they have a decent car? They’ve already made a supreme sacrifice to the Lord (that of marriage and family) and all you can do is snipe at them for not doing more?

We had an associate not long ago with a Mitsu Lancer Evo. His mom bought it for him!

I did have a problem with an ordered priest I met a few years back who drove a loaded Cadillac CTS, lived in a mansion (complete with in ground pool and top shelf bar) and had his own golf cart for commuting to the adjacent country club. Much of this was donated, but it still didn’t much seem like gospel poverty to me, but what do I know??? But in cases where priests haven’t taken a vow of poverty, why try to hold them to one?
 
Our priest also works at an RC parish.

Impressed by his homilies, a parishioner there bought him a new car.

Of course,he put it in terms of, “I couldn’t bear to see you drive that old thing any more” 🙂

My father also tells of a serbian catholic priest of his childhood who drove a sportscar and works (exclusively, I believe) for the RC diocese. He organized the boys choir, and scandalized the nuns by wearing a tshirt rather than his collar around the rectory . . .

Unfortunately, 1940/ two-seaters weren’t particularly safe, and he died prematurely in it.
 
odile53 said:
Yep, I can see the legalities now. Ain’t that always the case–the devil’s in the details! It would be great, though, if there was some way that a diocesan motor pool could be arranged.
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A religious order that runs a local college leases a fleet of cars. But that would be problematic for the diocese.
I didn’t know that canon law (as opposed to civil law) made each parish a juridic person. What you’re saying the legalities are really limits things.
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Yeah, the Church makes sure that bishops can’t just raid parish money/assets. In many ways a parish is akin to a franchise. Over a billion served! lol
Our parish priest has a leased car from the local Chevy dealership.
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Most priests have “reasonable” cars. While we get a salary its not exactly corporate living.
 
This is one of those things I understand all so well.

Two years ago I purchased a 5 year old, with 62,000 miles Audi A8 for $20,000.

The original owner took excellent care of it (after all, it cost him $72,000). So it still looked new.

The hard time I took (and still take) from people who talk about how “much money I must have,” while failing to recognize that their $24,000 Toyota/Chevy/etc. was more expensive, really rubs me the wrong way.

Just because a car is expensive new, doesn’t mean that owner purchased it new.
 
Our diocese owns the cars that are used by the religious priests and the pastoral assistants who work here. The parish pays its share of the fleet insurance & all the maintenance for whatever car we’re given for them. That can come back and bite you at insurance renewal time, especially when you have a year with several accidents, something our diocese has experienced a couple of times.

I recall one year we saw 4 cars totalled but luckily nobody with more than bumps and bruises. Unfortunately, every parish saw its insurance rate soar after that. Even today, our parish is responsible for a ten year old Sentra for which we pay through the nose for insurance. Our last pastor drove so little that the gas bill went from ~$100/mo to $35/2 mo. He walked everywhere.
 
An old but interesting thread. In a way I look at it is like someone in the military other bills are covered for him so they can drive a fancier car if they want. I have heard of privates driving BMW’s
 
When I attended the University of San Francisco, in the 1960s. one of the Jesuit Profs rode a Harley. How cool was that?

There was a retired Monsignor at our parish who was loved by all. The owner of the local Cadillac Dealership gave him a car. Not a new one, but a very nice used Cadillac. No one in the world had a bigger smile than the Monsignor when he was behind the wheel. He only drove it for a year and a few months before health and eyesight ended his driving. I understood that the pastor returned the “Caddy” to the dealership. I think that was the plan all along.
 
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