Why do we still have "The Angelus" on RTE?

Caveat said:
They are in paid employment
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Are you sure? Priests are treated for tax purposes as self-employed. Their earnings are normally comprised of a combination of a % of Mass collections (usually fixed at diocesan level) and Mass stipends for funerals, weddings, "mass card" masses etc.
 
Do diocesan priests not receive a weekly salary?

I thought the self employed aspect only applied to the other earnings you mention.

Anyway, my point was more that weddings (or funerals & christenings etc) are part of their job and not an 'extra' or something as Ash22 seems to be implying.
 
Caveat said:
Do diocesan priests not receive a weekly salary?

I thought the self employed aspect only applied to the other earnings you mention.

Anyway, my point was more that weddings (or funerals & christenings etc) are part of their job and not an 'extra' or something as Ash22 seems to be implying.
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No, not the ones in my neck of the woods. Their earnings are expected to include "fees" for funerals etc.
 
Caveat said:
Anyway, my point was more that weddings (or funerals & christenings etc) are part of their job and not an 'extra' or something as Ash22 seems to be implying.
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My read on what Ash22 was implying is that people who do not contribute to the Church or parish take the priest & parish for granted. The priests are not employees, and sacraments are not 'part of their job'.
 
Not easy to find info on this but:



...this for starters suggests payment of salaries to priests is not unusual.

Maybe it is just not publicised much?

TarfHead said:
The priests are not employees, and sacraments are not 'part of their job'.
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I would be astonished if it wasn't made very clear during their training that priests would be expected to perform these duties on a regular basis. As such, I don't see that it could be reasonably described as anything but 'part of their job'.
 
Caveat said:
Not easy to find info on this but:



...this for starters suggests payment of salaries to priests is not unusual.

Maybe it is just not publicised much?
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Ah yes, the Mayo News, the technical publication of choice for tax professionals in the West :rolleyes: The Irish Tax Review must be quaking in their boots :D
 
TarfHead said:
My read on what Ash22 was implying is that people who do not contribute to the Church or parish take the priest & parish for granted. The priests are not employees, and sacraments are not 'part of their job'.
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Yes exactly they do take them for granted. The running costs for any Church for any year are very high as you would imagine. You have insurance, heating, lighting, refurbishments etc, what is going to pay for all this if we do not contribute. The Church is there for everybody but some people are users. Of course the sacraments are part of their job and I know our priest would not ask for any money for doing them but in fairness for people who just turn up for the "big day" and expect the Church to be heated, cleaned etc, priest there with nice sermon even though he might scarcely have met them, I still think is not nice. Priest deserves a few bob.
Priests are expected to be available 24 hours a day for a call out. How many more professions will put up with that?
 
ubiquitous said:
Ah yes, the Mayo News, the technical publication of choice for tax professionals in the West :rolleyes: The Irish Tax Review must be quaking in their boots :D
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:) OK - but surely you accept that priests receiving salaries exist anyway?
 
Caveat said:
:) OK - but surely you accept that priests receiving salaries exists anyway?
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As I said, they most certainly don't do so in my own area - I know because I do tax returns for some of them. I also know that this applies in other areas. Maybe it doesn't in Mayo but I certainly wouldn't take the Mayo News or other local newspapers as authoritative sources for this or anything else.
 
Pretty confusing...

justsally said:
There is no payment for a Mass. However, a stipend can be offered. There are many diverse opinions as to whether or not money should be handed over. The priest receives a weekly salary from the Diocese, if he is a Diocesan priest. So any money given to him for the privilege of saying Mass is an extra. However, it's one's own choice whether or not to offer a stipend. Re tax etc. Monies received i.e. Easter Dues Christmas Dues etc are submitted to the Central Fund from where each priest's weekly salary is drawn down. The central fund also looks after retired priests etc. Priests are self employed, they pay their taxes and P.R.S.I which enables them to receive social welfare benefits. OK.

I am not trying to be controversial. Just supplying some facts :eek:
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On the basis that PAYE/PRSI does not have to be operated, I presume its more accurate to call it an "allowance". Anyway this is all irrelevant to an extent, as it is clear from the above that Mass monies etc are treated as additional to the basic allowance/salary.
 
ubiquitous said:
Pretty confusing...
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Yep - it does seem confusing alright.

Without taking this as a sarcastic question - what would a priest need a salary for as such? His home is provided, as is a housekeeper, his clothes are 'uniforms', all I can see him spending his salary on are (maybe) utility bills, and the odd bit of private entertainment (few pints, trip to cinema, coffee with a pal perhaps).
 
Priests must pay their own housekeeper costs (and pay PAYE/PRSI on them), uniforms (although vestments are usually provided free to them), and normally run a car.
 
His car is possibly the largest expense, petrol upkeep etc. What about if he needs to have a well earned holiday abroad?
 
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