Would you work for the Church?

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I do not believe the Church has an obligation to pay anyone. However most parishes do have the budget to hire paid professionals for their work. Obviously by the tone of some on this thread, the parish needs to carefully select paid staff for the positions.

The bottom line is, if one feels they can’t afford to work for their parish, then don’t. We all have our circumstances that effect the choices we make. The amount of money one makes has very little to do with who the person is. The concern of the amount of money one makes has everything to do with who they are.
 
Even in small towns there will just about always be places that will rent to disabled vets, those living on SSDI, for a fraction of what the general public will pay. The general rule for these places is 1/3 of the income, so, for the person with a $12K annual stipend the monthly rent would be less than $350. Our poster should check for those opportunities near him! $250 for food, transport and incidentals is cutting it really close!!
 
What a horrible thing to say. The Church does not “exploit” the people who work for her. But then again folks who feel that way should never work for a church in any capacity.
 
Unfairly low wages are a form of exploitation. It’s part of economic theory, which I studied at university. It’s not non-exploitative to pay someone less than half the market rate just because the university is a Catholic one.
 
The Church is not obliged to pay anyone.

However, when the Church agrees to pay someone, they ought to be compensated fairly.

Especially when the Church is big on preaching about fair wages and stuff - she should lead by example. That whole practice what you preach thing and whatnot.
 
Economic exploitation and not paying the laborer his just wages is actually one of the worst sins possible in Roman Catholic moral theology.

It’s classified as one of the sins so bad it “cries out to heaven for vengeance”, right alongside murder.

If you think about it, it’s a form of murder. What is murder if not depriving someone of life unjustly? Would not taking someone’s time and effort (their life) and not paying them fairly (unjust deprivation) be a form or a type of homicide?
 
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Which is why I think it’s particularly outrageous. I’m not saying they need to be paying her $90k, but if the market rate starts at $65k or thereabouts, they could at least offer $50k.

There’s definitely a different psychology when it comes to volunteering vs. a paying job. Malcolm Gladwell wrote about it at some point, if I recall correctly. People are willing to volunteer for free, but once you offer to pay them, they’re less willing to do it if the wage isn’t deemed “worth it.”

I would definitely be willing to volunteer at my parish, but I don’t want the sometimes tense employer-employee relationship to define my relationship to the Church, if that makes sense.
 
I fully concur with the numbers in your example.

It is an outrageous scandal if the Church has someone who should (or could) be making $85k a year, yet only pays them $30k a year. Unacceptable.

In my secretary example, if the normal wage would be $35k a year, but that person agrees to labor in the vineyard for $25k a year, to me, that’s reasonable.

But if the normal was $45k and the Church wanted to pay only $20k, to me that’s unacceptable.
 
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Most people know what a job pays before they accept a job. If they are unwilling to work for that amount, they can look for another position. I’ve not known a parish who forces people to work for them.
 
Don’t you think it’s hypocritical to preach about fair wages but then essentially exploit people herself?

The Church should be a shining beacon and a leader. She shouldn’t have to clandestinely compensate people in fear that she will be shamed for paying unjust wages.
 
I wouldn’t say wealthy. But by Gods grace I have all I need. God has blessed me with a really awesome job. I’m not married coz i’m still to young to get married.

But it still would not change my answer. If I was asked to work for the Church, I would do it for free. If I had to ask for something in return, I would ask the priest to bless me.
 
Linhares said:
I wouldn’t say wealthy. But by Gods grace I have all I need. God has blessed me with a really awesome job. I’m not married coz i’m still to young to get married.

But it still would not change my answer. If I was asked to work for the Church, I would do it for free. If I had to ask for something in return, I would ask the priest to bless me.
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I’m talking about a career, not volunteering.
 
I think you’re talking about volunteering, where you offer some services to the church. The discussion is more centered around the situation where one is working full-time for the church.

I provide pro-bono services to the church all the time. I give seminars, offer information about local by-laws, review contracts, help with drafting, etc. It takes up a couple of hours a month. But I certainly couldn’t devote full-time hours to my work in the church without being compensated. Among other things, I have rent and student loans to pay.
 
Very interesting reading. I am not surprised in the slightest. I have wondered if the Church as an employer might be much like any other NGO or government position, an institution more or less, worse for some - in the sense that for the most part you have no way to redress wrongs, right? It all falls under ‘obedience’. I guess I kind of knew that would be the case. That could really stultify one’s faith. Fast. Luther thought one of the hardest places to stay a sincere Christian was religious life.
 
For all of you complaining that the Church does not pay it’s staff a “living wage” what is your solution? What do you consider a “living wage”? I’m sure most parishes are at will employers. Any employee can walk away at anytime if they feel they aren’t being paid what they think they are worth. As a matter a fact, no has to take a job if the pay isn’t sufficient for their needs.

I just don’t get this attitude of exploitation. Dioceses and parishes in the US are under the same rules as any other employer as fair as minimum wage. I knew how much my job paid before I ever accepted the offer. I could have turned it down if my only goal for working was the money.

It’s also very sad that some of you think so poorly of the Church you’d never employed by. This is a non-issue. There are those of us do it out of love for our Church, and the rest that tell us we are being exploited for our efforts.
TheLittleLady said:
Most people know what a job pays before they accept a job. If they are unwilling to work for that amount, they can look for another position. I’ve not known a parish who forces people to work for them.
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Ditto
 
If your opinion is that any wage is fair as long as someone out there is desperate enough to agree to it, then I guess that’s where our ideals diverge. And I’d say what I’d say to any employer: don’t hire staff you can’t afford.

I’d be happy to volunteer at my parish, as I’ve said, but I wouldn’t, for example, take a job as a teacher for $20k. Even before taxes, that wouldn’t cover daycare in this city.
 
FJ2000 said:
But there should be trade offs–less stress,
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That one is a myth that I believed before I worked for the Church, that is for sure!!

I’ve worked in the business world, in high tech international corporations and for start up entrepreneurs, could even drop names about high profile jobs and customers. I thought when I went to work for the parish that it would be very spiritual. I actually thought we would pray together as a staff, and that I would pray more when I was on the grounds all day long.

Never, ever, ever in all of that corporate life was the stress as high as it is working for the Church. Where before if I had a slip up at work or made a mistake, we might lose a customer. Here, if I slip up at work we may lose a soul! Instead of one or two bosses, parish staff has a parish full of bosses. We never really leave work, try to imagine that next Sunday when you go to Mass, as soon as you get out of the car someone is telling you that this or that needs done. When you kneel to pray, there is a tap on your shoulder that the ladies room toilet is overflowing.

Your boss can change with no notice and you do not know if the new boss will like you, dislike you, keep you or simply let you go.

If you get a chance, take a moment to thank the staff at your parish. They really do make sacrifices for their parish and their pastor, and it is not the soft sort of job one imagines.
 
Now you are just deliberately twisting my words and insulting me. Clearly I’m horrible for wanting my job to pay enough to support my family. :roll_eyes:
 
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