Should Churches charge for Sacraments?

[1ke]

just ask that we let it go and focus on the question if we want to continue the discussion.

I know you come from a protestant background (so do I), so for comparison, I looked up whether protestant churches charge fees associated with weddings since i already linked to the fees associated with my old parish. i looked up several large protestant congregations that would be similar to my catholic parish:

Second Baptist has some hefty fees: http://www.second.org/Woodway/About/Weddings.aspx

First Baptist: https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.hous...Wedding-Fees-2017-10.pdf?mtime=20171018151137

Grace Presbyterian: http://gpch.org/about-us/special-services/weddings/

Memorial Drive UMC: Wedding Info — Memorial Drive United Methodist Church

Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church http://palmerchurch.org/about/weddings/

All of the above are in the $800-$1000 range and above.

I agree with you regarding wedding fees and such-- so this isn’t a tit-for-tat sort of thing. I just wanted to bring in more perspective since you said that as a protestant you’d never heard of charging for weddings. It is very much standard practice, from what i can tell, Catholic or non-Catholic.

 

[somecanadian]

Oh, my point was never that Protestants don’t charge PERIOD but that the tradition I came from DIDN’T. I was in a non-denominational Protestant congregation for many years

I also know my Mormon family were not charged for their wedding as their church community sees it as a family affair and not a business.

I’m sorry if it came across that I thought ALL Protestants don’t charge. I was just making the point that the tradition where I came from left me not thinking there would be a charge so of course when a fee was brought up it was quite the shock. It’s also why I didn’t slip the priest an envelope (a thing people were saying should have been done and insinuated I was only charged because I didn’t slip an envelope).

 

[TC3033]

Not sure, but I did see this.

The OP was DENIED the option of having his wedding during a regularly scheduled mass.

I thought I read it in the thread too, but now can’t find it.

 

[somecanadian]

It’s probably because I did comment that I would have loved such a thing but it wasn’t presented as an option.
I think that’s where people got that particular idea (and I was reacting to other things so just never addressed this point). We asked for a private ceremony, just us and priest and were denied.

 

[Joe_5859]

I also know my Mormon family were not charged for their wedding as their church community sees it as a family affair and not a business.

Mormons also generally tithe, as I understand it. Catholics generally sit in the 1% range of giving rather than the 10%.

 

[Joe_5859]

Per canon law, all marriages have to have two witnesses in addition to the couple and the minister (i.e. priest or deacon). So no priest would allow a wedding that was just the couple and the priest. He could not as canon law does not allow for it.

 

[somecanadian]

Bummer! Haha! I SOOOo wanted to elope. Being the center of attention isn’t my thing.

Once witnesses became involved it was all or nothing. You can’t invite two friends or two family members but not everyone else. It would have caused FAR more hurt than a private thing with just a priest (which I know now isn’t an option).

I gotta say it’s pretty sad that we Catholics aren’t giving more to our parishes! I’m kind of glad I came from the outside because I definitely learned a different way of treating the Church. Do you think this happens because there’s soooooo many cultural Catholics (people who identify as Catholic but don’t practice the faith)?

 

[Joe_5859]

Do you think this happens because there’s soooooo many cultural Catholics (people who identify as Catholic but don’t practice the faith)?

It’s hard to say. I mean, historically, Catholics 100 years ago gave enough to build tons churches (some only blocks from the next Catholic Church). And this was in an era where Catholics as a whole were on the lower income side of things (at least here in the U.S.—not sure if it was similar in Canada). It would be an interesting study to see giving practices over time and what contributes to that.

 

[somecanadian]

For sure. If it’s to the point where these parishes are struggling to make ends meet and have to charge for things like RCIA and etc then I do think the issue is worth examining deeper!

The thing about the diocese requiring a fee from the parish? I didn’t know that. And learning that has convicted me to raised my monthly tithe but yeah… I wonder what it would take to encourage people to give again?

 

[Joe_5859]

For sure. If it’s to the point where these parishes are struggling to make ends meet and have to charge for things like RCIA and etc then I do think the issue is worth examining deeper!

I would definitely hate to have to charge for RCIA (I’m in charge of RCIA for my parish). I can’t think of a bigger turn off than saying, “Hi! Welcome! We’re so glad you are looking in to learning more about the Catholic faith! That’ll be $##.” If it were a matter of paying for resources, I’d rather do without the resources than have people pay for RCIA.

The thing about the diocese requiring a fee from the parish? I didn’t know that. And learning that has convicted me to raised my monthly tithe but yeah… I wonder what it would take to encourage people to give again?

Ultimately, it is the bishop (as successor to the apostles) who is the chief shepherd of a geographic region. The priests are there to help him in his mission. So each parish has to help support the bishop.

Nowadays, a fair number of bishop’s residences and diocesan cathedrals are large, old buildings with expensive upkeep in urban centers with dwindling demographics (as many urban areas have a lot more businesses than residences). So even the cathedral parishes aren’t always self-sufficient. Add to that the fact that the bishop also has his own “curia” (i.e. workforce) that assist him in his diocesan-wide initiatives: catechesis, youth ministry, Catholic Charities, liturgy/worship, tribunal office, etc. All the parishes chip in for those things because the bishop is there for all of us, not just those who live near the cathedral.

Edit to add: There is actually a book Why Catholics Don’t Give And What Can Be Done About It. I have it, but haven’t read it yet.