Just treatment of church ministers: Some strategies that work

by Christine Schenk, CSJ

"Your contract is invalid," a Florida pastor said to his pastoral musician the day after Christmas. The musician who had established a youth mass, a flourishing choir and special Advent and Christmas services received her last pay check on Jan. 7. A registered letter accompanied it, saying her contract was terminated.

This was one of several "cases" of unjust treatment of Church ministers that were reviewed by a panel of experts at a CTA pre-conference workshop.

"I tried to do some intervention in this diocese and no one would talk to me. This woman had no one to speak for her," said panelist Sr. Louise Bond, Director of the National Association for Lay Ministry which, along with the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators (NACPA), has long advocated due process procedures, signed contracts and just personnel policies in U.S. parishes and dioceses. Neil Parent, Director of the National Conference of Catechetical Leaders observed: "Unfortunately there is great disparity between dioceses on the question of contracts. But a good human resources director can make a significant difference." NACPA recommends that dioceses should have one human resource person per 100 lay employees. Bond said the Florida diocese in question didn't even have a human resources office.

Washington Theological Union canon lawyer Fr. James Coriden spoke glowingly of a diocesan grievance officer in the Pacific Northwest who has successfully settled numerous cases before they went to court . This person has saved the diocese hundreds of thousands of dollars and brought a sense of justice to the aggrieved. "Not even half of dioceses have such an office, but it can make a huge difference," he said.

Taking another tack, CTA board member and attorney John Ayers noted: "Often issues of justice for Church employees are issues that you and I have a lot more to do with than any pastor could dream of. Pastors don't have the money. They get it from us - or not. It's time we took a serious look at whether our parish employees are being paid a living wage and if due process structures are in place. By the time it gets to litigation everybody in the community has lost."

Fr. Bob Silva, rector of the Stockton, Calif. cathedral and president-elect of the National Federation of Priests' Councils, believes priests "want to walk together with our ministers, but sometimes it feels like we're not partnering, we're being co-opted and that's got to be brought to the table. Parish priests are some of the most powerless people in the Church. When you look at the issues, they are the same for all of us, which is why we need to stay together as a community of disciples rather than as priests and laity." He advised ecclesial ministers to accept only written contracts with employment for cause, co-sign the personnel handbook with the pastor, and know who the diocesan due process officer is. He recommended the NACPA handbook: "Just Treatment for Church Ministers" as a resource.

The workshop was co-sponsored and co-facilitated by Mary Louise Hartman of the Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church and Sr. Chris Schenk of FutureChurch. It concluded with an interactive group process which surfaced financial and formation issues such as continuing clergy and ecclesial minister education, salary equity for poor and rich parishes, and the need for empowerment of parishioners to address justice issues.

Just treatment issues are core to the CTA/ FutureChurch Women in Church Leadership Project. With an estimated 179,000 paid ecclesial ministers now serving 20 hours or more per week in parishes, prisons and hospitals and 27,000 active priests, these issues are not going to go away. For ways to work for visibility and just treatment of lay ministers in your diocese and parish, send for our materials.