Krakow spokesman defends Polish methods of paying clergy

Published: 2008-05-06

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A Polish church official has defended the current methods of financing Catholic clergy in his country after a former priest warned that some priests violated canon law by "selling sacraments" to stave off poverty. "Justice doesn't mean the same for everyone -- it always happens that someone tries harder and is above average, whereas not all priests make the same effort," said Father Robert Neczek, spokesman for Poland's Krakow Archdiocese. "It's hard to say if other methods would work in Poland. The faithful are accustomed to voluntary offerings and to dealing with clergy face to face. Making direct donations shows how they evaluate the clergy's work," he said. In an April 25 article in the Gazeta Wyborcza daily, a former Dominican priest, Tadeusz Bartosz, said the lack of regular pay had forced parish rectors to look for income sources, making some vulnerable to the sin of simony by seeking profits from dispensing sacraments.

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