annex

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jun 07, 2007

Well, Fr Nick is history at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Severn, Maryland (Archdiocese of Baltimore)

Bishop Rozanski's spokesman was uncharacteristically declarative (for a bishop or his spokesman):

"Not only was the pastor being compensated unfairly -- neither was he present and addressing the pastoral needs of the parish," Caine said. "There is an expectation that a one-parish priest is going to be present on a regular basis and present in a way that the parish feels they're being cared for sacramentally and spiritually."

When it comes to cash, and long commutes, there seems to be a zero-tolerance policy in effect in Maryland--at least for the next six months.

[Fr.] Cieri earned nearly $48,000 a year, about 70 percent more than the $28,122 that the archdiocese says he was to earn as a pastor ordained for 25 years.

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In addition, Cieri received $6,300 in Mass stipends. Priests have the choice of receiving Mass stipends for individual Masses or a lump sum of $2,000, an amount set by the archdiocese, Caine said.

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He was also reimbursed nearly $36,000 for rectory expenses, though Caine said the priest did not live in the rectory attached to the church but rather at a house in (very upscale) Baldwin, in northern Baltimore County

Let's see.... Baldwin to Severn

My Google maps says its roughly 34 miles from Fr Nick's rectory annex to the rectory, with a nice route through horse farm country and the heart of the Baltimore harbor. (It's hard to justify these commutes with today's gas prices.)

And about that house. Even on $48k/year plus perks, it's hard to meet the mortgage payment on a single income at 13910 Glen High Rd Baldwin, MD. (Median house prices for a 3 bedroom ranch are at about $550,000)

Fr. Nick's housemate, Rev. Larry, may know more about the details.

To read the archdiocese's current thinking about Fr Nick, click here. Oops! Sorry; too late! That link has been deactivated.

For a reminder of Fr. Nick's earlier success at winning the attention of OTR, go here,