The Pastor’s Salary: Should Pastors Make 500K?

[phil19034]

This is what the diocesan paper had in an article from Dec 1, 2004 about changes starting in 2005:Each diocesan priest will receive $50,000 annually. That amount includes both the priest’s salary and his housing allowance. A priest may choose to purchase his own home, or rent the parish rectory to which he is assigned, Doerfler said.
Mr Doerfler is the Financial Officer for the diocese. So in the diocese it was 50k 11 - 12 years ago. The year previous (2004) it was 46,350 according to the article. This is not for additional work outside their assignment. That is paid out of other funds (i.e. fire departments and prisons pay chaplains stipends, not the diocese). None of our priests are rich, but they make enough to plan for retirement. That is a good thing in my opinion. Perhaps there are more “perks” in other diocese so they reduce their salary, but our diocesan priests are not making the wages of entry level skilled labor. Also keep in mind that a priest making 35k in rural Georgia is likely as well, if not better off, than a priest making 50 - 60k in Seattle. Much of it depends on what come out of his pocket; in my area it’s basically everything someone in secular employment would cover (food, utilities, housing, medical insurance, retirement, etc).

And before anyone goes off on priest in my area having it too good, please remember that they are often turning over significant portions of their income to charity or are paying to support retired religious that did not have their own funds to retire once their order essentially died out or could not support them. Just because they make a decent salary does not mean they aren’t living the gospel.

That was the second part of my post … Housing package

Some people (including the government for taxes) include room and board when calculating a priest’s total comp. If a parish doesn’t have a rectory, then it’s common for a priest to receive a housing allowance in cash to pay for an apartment, etc.

But a housing allowance isn’t part of his salary, but is a taxable part of his benifits package. But the value of a housing benifit is going to vary from parish to parish. Some parishes have very nice Rectories, some have modest rectories, and some no rectory at all.

God bless

 

[phil19034]

Do the popes and cardinals make a lot of money? I have heard that they live in palaces, though this might not be true.

There are two things: salary and benifits

1. I read that Pope does not receive a salary. But he’s taken care of for the rest of his life and funeral. He doesn’t need money. However l’m sure that the Popes have their own money, from before they were Pope, to buy family members and friends Christmas gifts, etc.
2. Cardnals are Archbishops (or work at the Vatican). They receive basically the same pay as their priests (sometimes even less). But they do live in whatever home their diocese owned for the Archbishop. Some (arch)bishops are selling their homes and moving into more modest homes. The Cardinal Archbishop of Boston sold the Cardnals residence in Boston and Archbishop Chaput in Philadelphia sold the Archbishop’s residence (the Archbishop of Philadelphia has historically been a Cardinal) and moved into an apartment at the Seminary.
3. I would imagine that Cardnials at the Vatican have apartments at the Vatican similar to priests and similar to the one Pope Francis moved into when he decided not to move into the Papal Palace.

Cardinals and some bishops do have access to a driver (sometimes a priest or not). But today that’s usually for either security/safety concerns and/or to allow the Bishop to work while in the car. Some don’t use drivers at all or only use them when they need to work while in the car. Also bishops usually carpool when going somewhere, so sometimes a priest will drive to allow the Bishop to focus on his upcoming homily, sermon, etc.

God Bless

 

[TCEL]

I don’t have a problem with the Church’s patrimony (matrimony?) of the arts, so I suppose I don’t have too much of a problem with how these congregations spend their money. In fact, the Church would be a lot better off if it was producing beautiful art again. That’s a personal hunger of mine though.

My main opinion is tangential; I think this reaffirms the wisdom of priestly celibacy. Not saying married priests are bad at all, just that many families are already struggling to provide for their own. There are wonderful married priests, but as a norm, I think it would be difficult. Catholic schooling is already expensive enough, partly for the reason of providing salaries for teachers with families.

 

[IgnatianPhilo]

I found out recently my own priest only receives 6000 NZD a year and I thought that was absurd. I’m not sure if there’s a proper limit to how much one can earn as a priest but 500000 is beyond that.

 

[JonNC]

…AND for the record, The average priest makes under $35,000 per year.

When I was growing up, my dad had housing, and made about $6,000, as a Lutheran pastor.
$35,000 today, plus housing, is modest at best.

Jon

 

[Arizona_Fat_Gir]

John Corapi was a high-flyer even before he became a priest. He owned a couple of luxury cars and knew people in Hollywood.

Andrew Greely is another priest who lived well. He owned property in Michigan, Tucson, and Chicago.

Some people just have a knack for making money. Some don’t even have to try that hard; it just falls into their laps.

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Are parish and diocesan budgets transparent in the US? The Episcopal Church requires that church budgets are readily accessible.

TEC, as well as most mainline denominations, have clergy salary guidelines. If a parish is wealthy, they can afford a higher salary for their priest(s), but the national guidelines keep it under a certain point. I think it’s the non denominational churches that say the sky’s the limit.

 

[Alex_H]

Are parish and diocesan budgets transparent in the US? The Episcopal Church requires that church budgets are readily accessible.

TEC, as well as most mainline denominations, have clergy salary guidelines. If a parish is wealthy, they can afford a higher salary for their priest(s), but the national guidelines keep it under a certain point.** I think it’s the non denominational churches that say the sky’s the limit.**

Yes sir! There is a non-denominational church around here where the pastor lives in a mansion on the lake front and had his Mercedes Benz SUV bought with church tithes for his birthday. He got the position of pastor because his dad was the pastor before him!

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Yes sir! There is a non-denominational church around here where the pastor lives in a mansion on the lake front and had his Mercedes Benz SUV bought with church tithes for his birthday. He got the position of pastor because his dad was the pastor before him!

I believe that many non-denominational or mega-churches were founded by an individual, therefore they have a bit of a stake in the growth and financial benefits.

 

[Kielbasi]

500k sounds like a lot, and above average.

But I would expect ministers and rabbis to make more than priests do in any event.

Protestant churches usually don’t provide rectories for their clergy to live in, and their clerics have families to raise as well. Children cost a lot of money.

 

[ThePCWife]

No, Paul said it is ok to be able to support oneself (and possibly a family) as a pastor/elder, not to enrich oneself doing so. It doesn’t take 500k to do that, no matter how expensive the houses are in an area. The pastor can rent, too.

It’s a big problem that some men believe “preaching and teaching” is nothing but a money tree to shake for more and more dollars.

 

[Padres1969]

To my knowledge, this is a non-issue in the Catholic Church concerning clergy and religious.

It’s a non-issue for most mainline churches as well.

It’s really the realm of televangelists and megachurch pastors where you’re going to find guys making half a million a year.

 

[porthos11]

Do the popes and cardinals make a lot of money? I have heard that they live in palaces, though this might not be true.

Some do. The Archbishop of my former home in the Philippines lives in the Archbishop’s Palace, and it’s a large complex of palatial design. It’s no Versailles but it’s also not your typical neighbourhood house.

Thing is: it doesn’t belong to him. It belongs to the Archdiocese. Once the Archbishop’s term is over, he leaves the residence.

It’s a dignity of his office. One should therefore have no problem with it.

 

[phil19034]

Are parish and diocesan budgets transparent in the US? The Episcopal Church requires that church budgets are readily accessible.

TEC, as well as most mainline denominations, have clergy salary guidelines. If a parish is wealthy, they can afford a higher salary for their priest(s), but the national guidelines keep it under a certain point. I think it’s the non denominational churches that say the sky’s the limit.

For the most part, Catholic parishes and dioceses do have transparent budgets. But I would guess that most people don’t know how to access them (but I’m also sure most haven’t asked to see them either).

The Catholic Church also has clergy salary guidelines, but the only difference is that parish assignment has typically has nothing to do with the salary. Typically, it’s based on seniority in the Diocese and official role in diocese/parish. But the salary differences between a senior Pastor and a newly ordained Priest is still very small.

 

[utah_rose]

I am sure John Corapi made a lot of money over the years from his books, CD’s and videos.

Speaking of John Corapi he supposedly is on LinkedIn promoting speeches to non religious events or groups. He’s pictured with no Roman Collar so don’t know if he’s been laicized or what. If true, he really needs our prayers. I was hoping that he was in isolation in some religious community and had given the profits from his books and tapes to charity.

 

[Tommy999]

patheos.com/blogs/andygill/the-pastors-salary-should-pastors-make-500k/

Should they make 500k? Probably not, that seems like an awful lot.

I can only speak of the evangelical congregations that I’ve been a part of.

– Pastors of larger, suburban churches tend to make more money than pastors of smaller or urban churches, simply because there is more money coming in. A large church pastor makes 100k plus most of the time.

– Mega-church pastors are the ones that usually make the huge salaries. In some cases, there could be abuse because they are sometimes not accountable to an overseeing body since they are many times the ultimate authority in that congregation, or the overseeing body is more of a “rubber stamp” to whatever the pastor wants.

– The medium-sized churches paid the pastor in the 60k to 80k range plus a parsonage to live in. The smaller churches, which are usually comprised of pastors just starting out or small town pastors, usually make a lot less, sometimes in the 30k to 50k range, depending on the cost of living of the place where they live. They may also have a parsonage to live in.

For example, in my brother’s church in another state, the congregation is small (100 or so on a good day), so the pastor has a job outside of church to provide for his family and does church business (visitation,etc) after work and on weekends. He keeps busy but loves the Lord and doesn’t seem to mind.

 

[ComplineSanFran]

Protestant churches usually don’t provide rectories for their clergy to live in, and their clerics have families to raise as well. Children cost a lot of money.

Many non-Catholic churches DO provide a rectory/parsonage/manse to live in, or if not, as stated above, there is a housing allowance to compensate.

Whether a priest or pastor is married and has a family to support does not enter in to salary negotiations. In fact, that should not be a factor at all. The salary should depend on the job description, experience, and qualifications of the person.

 

[Phemie]

Many non-Catholic churches DO provide a rectory/parsonage/manse to live in, or if not, as stated above, there is a housing allowance to compensate.

I had wondered about that statement because every community I’ve lived in had rectories/manses for the different Non-Catholic churches.

 

[SAVINGRACE]

It’s all part of the “prosperity gospel”, the false doctrine propagated by quite a few extremely popular evangelists that material prosperity flows from the depth and quality of one’s faith in God.

 

[Padres1969]

It’s all part of the “prosperity gospel”, the false doctrine propagated by quite a few extremely popular evangelists that material prosperity flows from the depth and quality of one’s faith in God.

Ah yes, the “gospel” that John Oliver ripped to shreds a few months back.