Side jobs for priest?

[archangel04]

Just out of curiousity, are diocesan priest allowed to have a 2nd part time jobs? Like a side job? Example could be being a part time police officer? If they are allowed, what types of jobs are not permitted? other than immorally wrong postions. Thanks

 

[Advocatus_Fidei]

That would be up to the Bishop, at one time when there was more than one parish priest in many parishes it was common but now it is very unlikely in many parishes, the priest barely has time to even carry out his priestly duties these days let alone take a second job and even when they did they wouldn’t have been police officers, they tended to be more teachers etc.

 

[littlequestion]

Priests who write articles are allowed to keep their payments, I believe. And I think that if they run special retreats they are allowed to keep at least part of the retreat fees.

Just two thoughts of sidelines that might not conflict. Any job with a requirement that he be somewhere at a certain time would be difficult because what if he were called upon for Last Rites, etc?

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Priests who write articles are allowed to keep their payments, I believe. And I think that if they run special retreats they are allowed to keep at least part of the retreat fees.

That would be secular priests. Religious usually have to turn in all money earned through their ministries.

I work at a Catholic High School and I do not even see the check, it goes right to my community.

 

[archangel04]

That would make sence. But can they be police officer if the Bishop allowed it and the department also allowed them? Or would this go against their priestly duties?

 

[mary_bobo]

I know a Catholic priest who is also an AKC licensed dog show judge and he does so from time to time. I believe he also has a dog at the rectory where he lives. He grew up with parents who showed dogs.

 

[CDNowak]

That would make sence. But can they be police officer if the Bishop allowed it and the department also allowed them? Or would this go against their priestly duties?

Highly unlikely, but they could be a chaplain for the PD.

Priests do have limits on what the can do “on the side”, they cannot hold political office, for example. They demands and risks of being a police officer would probably exclude that as well, as it would interfere with the demands of being a priest.

 

[linnie]

Our parish priest is in the Army reserve. he’s been activated once and sent to the middle east since being assigned to our parish.

 

[Advocatus_Fidei]

That would make sence. But can they be police officer if the Bishop allowed it and the department also allowed them? Or would this go against their priestly duties?

Highly unlikely as there is a huge conflict of interests, people guilty of a crime wouldn’t confess to him example.

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

Highly unlikely as there is a huge conflict of interests, people guilty of a crime wouldn’t confess to him example.

Actually if they were smart they would confess to him and then it would be protected under the seal of the confessional.

 

[Advocatus_Fidei]

Actually if they were smart they would confess to him and then it would be protected under the seal of the confessional.

If they were really smart they wouldn’t be criminals.

Can you not se the conflict, as a police officer its his duty to arrest them, as a priest he can’t do anything, obviously he would have to go with his priesthood, but its still a conflict.

 

[CDNowak]

If they were really smart they wouldn’t be criminals.

Can you not se the conflict, as a police officer its his duty to arrest them, as a priest he can’t do anything, obviously he would have to go with his priesthood, but its still a conflict.

I believe that was a joke…

 

[JReducation]

You have to separate here between the priest who is a secular and the priest who is a religious. The priest who is a religious has a full-time life being a religious. Being a priest is a ministry within his vocation to be a religious. When he’s not doing priestly ministry, he’s living religious life.

A priest who is a secular is usually, but not always, a diocesan priest. These priests can have a second job if the policy in their diocese allows for it. Every bishop has his own policies. Secular priest get paid a salary for their work in a parish. They also get additional pay for retreats, extra masses that they celebrate or when they go out to another parish to help. Because they do not make vows they do not live in a community of brothers. So can keep their money and do not have to share it.

A priest who is a religious does not get paid a salary. Those who work in schools, parishes, hospitals, the military or other institutions that pay a salary are not paid for their work. The organiztion has an agreement with the religious community. They pay the religious community, no the individual. That’s why religious don’t pay taxes, but secular priests do. Secular priests are paid directly and keep their salaries.

Secular priests can moonlight and keep the money they make. But the jobs they take depend on the bishop’s policies. If a secular priest belong to a society such as: FSSP, Maryknoll, Vincentians, Institute of Christ the King, or even SSPX, they are ordained to what is called “the common table.” These priests, while they are not religious, do not get to keep the money they make. It goes to the society. The society makes the policies regarding second jobs, not the bishop.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[archangel04]

Very helpful information thank you so much.

 

[CDNowak]

I’ve been thinking about this thread and there’s something bothering me.

A priest cannot have a second job. The priesthood, whether diocesan or religious, involved in parish, school, or contemplative life, is not “a job”. Nor is the ministry of the priest “a job”. Nor are they “careers”.

Like I said, just been bugging me.

 

[JReducation]

Very helpful information thank you so much.

I’m glad that it was helpful. The difference between religious life and the priesthood is not always understood by the laity, nor is the fact that secular priests are not all diocesan, but some belong to societies.

I always feel obliged to try to answer these kinds of questoins, because I believe that we, religious men and priests, have made a mess of this priest/religious relationship and we have confused the laity. I believe that we have an obligation to the laity to help clarify by explaining the difference between priests themselves, as well as the difference between being a priest and being a religious.

It baffles me that priests and religious men never explain this to the laity. It would probably bring many more men to both the priesthood and to the religious life, if they knew the difference.

St. Francis had the right of it. He believed in keeping it simple. Every monk or friar is a religious brother and some brothers are also priests. Other than that, any other priest is not a brother, therefore, he is not a religious. He is a secular man, but a cleric nonetheless. In other words, keep it simple. In other words a male can be a priest and still make money. Or he can be a religious and vow poverty. But if God wills it, he can be both, a priest and a religious; therefore, he’s a broke priest. LOL

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[JReducation]

I’ve been thinking about this thread and there’s something bothering me.

A priest cannot have a second job. The priesthood, whether diocesan or religious, involved in parish, school, or contemplative life, is not “a job”. Nor is the ministry of the priest “a job”. Nor are they “careers”.

Like I said, just been bugging me.

He can in the sense that he is not expected to be on duty 24/7. The Church does not expect that of any priest, religious or secular. I think that the laity expects that, but not the Church.

For example, we have only one priest in our local community. He is at the parish only three hours a day. After that, he comes back to the community house. He has other duties, one of them is to be the cook and the procurator (does the shopping). There are four brothers who work with him at the parish. They run the parish until 5:00, but then they are off duty too. The parish closes. All evening activities are handled by the laity, not by the religious. The religious have Liturgy of the Hours, common meals, common recreation, studying, private prayer and manual labor when not in the parish. I’m there only 10 hours a week. The rest of the time I’m with Respect Life.

I have some very good friends at another parish. They are secular priests. They are off duty at 4:30. Only one of them is on call after that. The others are off. They have nothing left to do at the parish in the evening. The parish runs itself.

You’re right, the priesthood is not a job, it’s a call to ministry. But it does have time limits. That’s why we do have secular priests who have other jobs. Most of the ones whom I know are professors. Very few have secular degrees, though I did meet one in India who was a cab driver. That suprised me.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[CDNowak]

He can in the sense that he is not expected to be on duty 24/7. The Church does not expect that of any priest, religious or secular. I think that the laity expects that, but not the Church.

For example, we have only one priest in our local community. He is at the parish only three hours a day. After that, he comes back to the community house. He has other duties, one of them is to be the cook and the procurator (does the shopping). There are four brothers who work with him at the parish. They run the parish until 5:00, but then they are off duty too. The parish closes. All evening activities are handled by the laity, not by the religious. The religious have Liturgy of the Hours, common meals, common recreation, studying, private prayer and manual labor when not in the parish. I’m there only 10 hours a week. The rest of the time I’m with Respect Life.

I have some very good friends at another parish. They are secular priests. They are off duty at 4:30. Only one of them is on call after that. The others are off. They have nothing left to do at the parish in the evening. The parish runs itself.

You’re right, the priesthood is not a job, it’s a call to ministry. But it does have time limits. That’s why we do have secular priests who have other jobs. Most of the ones whom I know are professors. Very few have secular degrees, though I did meet one in India who was a cab driver. That suprised me.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Perhaps what I meant to say is that while there may be priests (including their ministry), who have a job (ie cab driving*), the priesthood is an ontological character.

Unfortunately I have had far too much experience with priests for whom the priesthood is either a job or a career (and I don’t know which I find more distasteful) for me not to have said something.

*in a way I find that oddly compatible with the priesthood…

 

[JReducation]

Perhaps what I meant to say is that while there may be priests (including their ministry), who have a job (ie cab driving*), the priesthood is an ontological character.

Unfortunately I have had far too much experience with priests for whom the priesthood is either a job or a career (and I don’t know which I find more distasteful) for me not to have said something.

*in a way I find that oddly compatible with the priesthood…

There is no denying that there is an ontological change in the soul. That’s the sacramental dimension of Holy Orders. But when you think about the daily life of the priest, that’s when you get into this discussion of second job. The terminology is not precise, but we don’t have a better one. You can’t have precise terminology when you’re talking about something that’s ontological.

But to answer the question, many priests to other things that have nothing to do with the priesthood. In fact, most priests who are religious do more things that have nothing to do with the priesthood than they do priestly ministry.

For example, a priest who is a monk probably celebrates mass once a week. Usually they attend the community mass. But that priest may be a full-time baker, because that’s how the monastery supports itself, selling bread.

A priest who is a friar, such as a Franciscan, may never celebrate a baptism, witness a marriage or do funerals, because of his assignment. Look at the Franciscans of the Renewal. About half of them are priests. But they do not do priestly ministry. They attend mass with their brothers and head out to the soup kitchen, to walk the streets, to a college to teach, to a retreat house, or remain inside the house and serve as the community’s secretary, cook, housekeeper, gardener, etc. These men have other jobs that do not require the priesthood and they spend more time on those than they do in sacramental ministry.

Then there are diocesan priests. As I said above, they are not expected to be available 24/7. They had a scheduled day, like everyone else. They have a day off. They have every evening off, except when they are on call. They have vacation and retreat time off, which is several weeks a year. They can have another function, job or whatever we want to call it. We have a priest who works with us in Respect Life. He’s a secular priest. He teaches full-time. When he’s not teaching he’s lecturing on Life Issues or doing research in bioethics. He lives in a parish where he helps with one Sunday mass and occasional confession. But he is a full-time scholar.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[plato3]

Most priests that i know are lucky to get one day off a week and are non stop busy the rest of the week. I know of one priest that has a side job of sorts…he is an Elvis impersonator and raises much money for his church functions by appearing and singing old Elvis tunes.