Should Churches charge for Sacraments?

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No you can not have the sacrament of matrimony without a church wedding but it may just be a case of this is the way we always do things and heaven help anyone who gets in front of that boulder rolling downhill.
Good not alway, human afraid so.
 
I actually agree with your premise while my initial comment highlights the need to remember our priests financially.

In my own life, my step-mother would be Catholic if it weren’t for the fact that the parish I grew up in charged $800 for the privilege. Why I have no idea; they were doing fine financially.
 
A lot of people will think you’re a cheapskate if you say any of this audibly. Its a smart move to discuss it hear than in front of your friends or in-laws.

Marriage is very expensive, long after the wedding. This helps you get used to paying- afterwards you’ll have the pleasure to buy furniture, and minivans, school tuition, braces. This is only the beginning.

Its a good idea to charge for the wedding, it gets the man into the habit of paying.
 
Some parishes do have fees associated with other sacraments. My parish has a fee for Confirmation, but it is really just for the group photo and the Confirmation retreat. I make sure to specify that it is a “Photo/Retreat fee”, not a “Confirmation fee.” And if anyone can’t pay, they’re never turned away. Same with First Communion.

Believe me, I do understand where you are coming from. I hate the idea of people being nickel-and-dimed for parish functions. In my ideal world, the parish wouldn’t charge for anything—no wedding fee, no parish hall rental fee, no tuition charge for Catholic schools, etc. But in that ideal world, Catholics are also giving to the parish more generously in order to finance these things. Unfortunately, that’s not where we are at, and so the parish often has to pass on the cost to the individuals who are incurring the cost.

How this all applies in your case, I can’t say, of course. Maybe your parish is charging more than it needs to. But you said you wanted to have a general discussion, so I’m speaking generally. 🙂
 
That’s a good point Joe. Sadly people seem less inclined to just help their parish these days.
 
$800 to cover what costs, exactly? RCIA? Surely not the sacrament of baptism or First Communion?
 
Itis customary to pay whatever you are going to pay at or before the wedding. So I see where you would have gotten a call. And by honeymoon you mean short trip to a nearby location because we don’t have money to pay the church but went on a long or distant trip doesn’t help your case.
 
Augustinian said:
A lot of people will think you’re a cheapskate if you say any of this audibly. Its a smart move to discuss it hear than in front of your friends or in-laws.
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That depends surely? I discussed it with friends and they were all very understanding.
Augustinian said:
Marriage is very expensive, long after the wedding.
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Doesn’t have to be. I did a lot of DIY stuff that other people pay for. Invitations, Mass Books, Haggled with the photographer, did the floral arrangements etc.
Augustinian said:
Its a good idea to charge for the wedding, it gets the man into the habit of paying.
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What the heck???
 
TheLittleLady said:
There is a cost for exclusive use of the building for several hours across two days (rehearsal, decorating, photograph time, Mass). The staff has to be paid to be there, the cleaning people have to come in and clean up (bathrooms especially).
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This is realistic.
Joe_5859 said:
In my ideal world, the parish wouldn’t charge for anything—no wedding fee, no parish hall rental fee, no tuition charge for Catholic schools, etc
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This is a fantasy.
 
Joe_5859 said:
Believe me, I do understand where you are coming from. I hate the idea of people being nickel-and-dimed for parish functions. In my ideal world, the parish wouldn’t charge for anything—no wedding fee, no parish hall rental fee, no tuition charge for Catholic schools, etc. But in that ideal world, Catholics are also giving to the parish more generously in order to finance these things. Unfortunately, that’s not where we are at, and so the parish often has to pass on the cost to the individuals who are incurring the cost.
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Yes, this would be the ideal.

Just to give you an example, I am a “money counter”. It is not unusual to see long standing parishioners give $5.00 or less weekly. The ones who do so are the ones who complain the loudest when a ministry disbands due to lack of funding or Father has to appeal for more money. People just don’t understand that the Church has to follow labor standards for it’s lay employees, pay ever increasing gas & electric costs, insurance, etc.
And without lots of cheap labor like in the old days (think sisters, brothers & seminarians), things will get tighter and tighter.
 
somecanadian said:
No fee was mentioned when we booked the wedding or through the entire planning process.
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That would bother me more than anything else.
somecanadian said:
As a long-standing member who routinely donates to the church… shouldn’t my donations help to pay for events just like this?
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Depending on the parish, it usually does. The parish my wife and I got married in charged a lesser fee for parishioners (they would often find themselves doing weddings for non-parishioners because it was a university town with a certain amount of transients). And that was because they assumed if you were a parishioner, you were already contributing to the parish.
 
Has the secretary provided a specific amount wanted? Perhaps in casual conversation between the secretary and the priest it came out that no stipend was provided the day of the wedding which honestly is kind of unusual in my opinion but then again younger people are too normalized to the idea of paying for everything with a debit card. I would have given the priest $200 CASH divided in one envelope marked parish and one marked with the priest’s name the day of the wedding and you might not have heard about it again.
 
somecanadian said:
My issue is with a ‘set fee’, which makes it feel as if I’m being charged for a sacrament. That seems highly problematic to me.
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Yeah. I agree.

In Ireland this is much more casual. Nobody will chase after you for a “wedding fee” and generally you just slip the priest a brown envelope on the day.

You can also usually explain to the priest if you’re short on cash.
 
$800 for RCIA?
That is crazy!
Is this just one parish, or is it a diocesan policy?
 
Then I insist that the Church provides a cookie table and cake too!
 
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