Folia Canonica 12. (2009)
STUDIES - Péter Artner: The remuneration of diocesan clerics
22 PÉTER ARTNER Those laics who either in full time or in part-time work for the Church are to be paid with a wage fitting to the norms of civil law, and this is to be settled in the contract made with them. To maintain the freedom of the ecclesiastical authority it is suitable — if it is possible in the civil legal system — to contract the contract with the employee in such a way, which allows the ecclesiastical authority the possibility to take the required steps if is necessary, e.g. to dismiss them. The acolytes and lectors according to §1 of can. 230 are not to be supported only because of their service. The diocesan or other regulation can cover the remuneration for them, according to their ministry or job. The members of Religious Institutes are to be supported by their institute, according to their norm. VIII. Conclusion We examined the canonical regulation of the sustentation of the clerics, according to the current legislation. We saw that this is a very complex question, which cannot be brought under regulation easily. Because of the great variety of each territory and the diverse personal necessities, the situations would have to be considered one by one. The best rule here is that whatever increases the ability of the cleric for the work of the ministry of the Church makes him eligible for more remuneration. Therefore the amount a cleric receives should be commensurate with his responsibilities in the Church. Though fundamentally the same remuneration should all clerics have, the juridical principle is valid here, too: “Summum ius — summa iniuria”, this means, complete justice can lead to complete injustice. Neither in the case of the clerics can the appreciation of their work be left to the Eternity, because they live and work in the world, have to get a kind of acknowledgement which is to be expressed by material goods, too. The decent remuneration of the clerics is a grave obligation for the diocese. The bishop, who has to take care of the priests, as the Good Shepherd, cannot afford that one of his priests lives in want, just because the similarity to the Poor Jesus is exaggeratedly emphasized.
