Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao may be the head of the Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, but when the diocesan hierarchy is graded on the basis of monthly allowance, he and his immediate subordinates are placed well below a parish priest and a chaplain.
the goan I network
PANAJI
The Archdiocese of Goa and Daman has issued a decree ‘Revision of the Financial Reorganisation’, which has been published in the Church’s official bulletin ‘Renovacao’, revising “the monthly/yearly allowances and other benefits of the diocesan clergy, in view of constant rise of the cost of living.”
Archbishop-Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrao and Acting Diocese Chancellor Fr Victor Sequeira issued a decree revising the allowances with effect from October 1, “in consultation with the Diocesan Finance Committee and the College of Diocesan Consultors.”
The revised allowances for the parish clergy consists of Parish Priest/ Chaplain living alone (Rs 9,000), Parish Priest and one Assistant (Rs 16,500), Parish Priest and two Assistants (Rs 22,500), Parish Priest and three Assistants (Rs 27,000), Parish Priest and four Assistants (Rs 30,000) and Parish Priest and five Assistants (Rs 36,000).
While the term “Assistant/s” includes also “Priest/s on the Staff’, the decree states that “in case the normal sources of maintenance of the Clergy in a particular parish are not sufficient for the payment of their allowances, the Fabrica or other Institutions/Bodies in the parish will seek to make up the deficit. When this is not possible, the Archdiocese shall cover the deficit, after necessary verification of the financial position of the parish concerned.”
The monthly allowance for the Archbishop-Patriarch is Rs 5,500, followed by the Vicar General (Rs 4,700). The Chancellor, Financial Administrator, Heads of Curia Sections at the Archbishop’s House, Secretary to the Archbishop, Rectors of Seminaries, Director of the Pastoral Institute, Staff Members of the Pastoral Institute and of the Seminaries, Directors of Clergy Homes and Centres, Principals and Professors of Colleges are all entitled to a monthly allowance of Rs 4,000. Deacons serving on weekends will be entitled to Rs 250 per day, while Deacons serving permanently for one month or more will get a monthly allowance equivalent to Assistant/s in the parish.
In addition, the revised Financial Reorganisation decree has also made a provision for monthly allowances to retired priests, additional allowances (annual holiday, special subsidies Christmas and Easter), medical benefits and transport allowances on transfers.
