Sources of income for Catholic clergy in Poland and Slovakia Cover Image

Źródła dochodu duchownych katolickich w Polsce i na Słowacji
Sources of income for Catholic clergy in Poland and Slovakia

Author(s): Justyna Krzywkowska, Tomasz Poterała
Subject(s): Christian Theology and Religion, Canon Law / Church Law, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warmińsko-Mazurskiego w Olsztynie
Keywords: finances; salary; offerings of the faithful; state subsidies; parish priest; parish vicar;

Summary/Abstract: There is a common belief, both in Poland and Slovakia, that clergy live in prosperity. Not every source of parish income is also a source of income for the clergy. The position of the Catholic Church on the methods of obtaining church goods was set out in the teaching of the Second Vatican Council and in Book V of the Code of Canon Law of 1983. In Poland, the basis for the salaries of priests serving in parishes are mass offerings (donation for the mass intention), baptism offerings, banns of marriage offerings, weddings and funerals (so-called iura stolae), pastoral visit offerings and offerings for prayers for the dead. Their division varies between dioceses. On the other hand, the main source of financing for the Catholic Church in the Slovak Republic are funds received from the state budget. The aim of this article is to compare the system of supporting clergy of the Catholic Church in two countries of the Visegrad group – Poland and Slovakia.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 49
  • Page Range: 151-170
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Polish