Hi, Taylor —

We have several answers from previous questions, which are stored in our handy-dandy searchable knowledge base.

There are a lot of quick answers there, so give it a try. Just type in some search criteria.

I searched the database for you can came up with these postings that should address related questions you may have:

• Could I interview someone about the Catholic faith for my World Religion paper?
  
• Would you participate in an assignment I've been given on the Catholic Church's views on abortion?
  
• Can I interview you for a paper where I need to talk to someone of a faith that I don't belong to?
  
• Because my project requires me to interview people of various faiths, can I interview a Catholic?

You said:

1. How is the Catholic Church organized, all the way up to the Pope?

• What is the order in a Catholic Church and is there some office called Acolyte?

2. How are clergymen compensated for their time?

Don't hold me to this, but I think they receive a humble salary of about $11,000 annually.
Father Jonathan may be able to address this more accurately.

3. How does the Pope receive revelation from God?
4. What revelation has the Pope received recently?

The Pope has never received any new revelation.

He is there to safeguard, protect, and clarify the Revelation of Jesus that closed in 100 A.D.
He may receive private revelation, like an apparition, probably to guide him, but none of this is part of the official teaching of the Catholic Church.

5. How does the Catholic Church deal with the explanation that God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost are one in purpose, rather than one God in the Trinity, or that the Three Persons of the Trinity are one Godhood, but Separate Beings?
6. Does the Catholic Church see God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost, as one God just manifested in different forms?

These answers are right in the Catechism; you may want to consider buying one. Here's the web page from that area of the Catechism:

III. The Holy Trinity In The Teaching Of The Faith

7. How does the Catholic Church worship or respect saints and the Virgin Mary as compared to God and Christ?

We have answered loads of questions in the About Saints area of our site or you can use our search engine to find specific answers to your questions.

Briefly, Catholics honor those God honors — the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints in Heaven.

We worship Jesus, who is God-Incarnate, and of one substance with the Father, alone, we don't worship any saint or the Blessed Virgin Mary.

If a Catholic tells you they do, tell them to talk to their priest and go to Confession; they are wrong.

The Church consist of three groups:

1. The Church Triumphant - those in Heaven who are saved
   
2. The Church Suffering — those who are saved but have remaining self-love being burned away in Purgatory. Purgatory is like the Holy Hospital of Heaven. It's not a third place or a second chance and ... surprise —It's Scriptural!
3. and The Church Militant, those of us on our earthly pilgrimage here on earth striving to live a saintly live.
   

I hope this helps,

Mike

Hi, Taylor —

You asked:

2. How are clergymen compensated for their time?

There are different types of priests and therefore different methods of remuneration.

Religious order priests (i.e. Jesuits, Franciscans, Dominicans etc..) usually take a vow of poverty and therefore do not own anything and do not receive salaries. When they need something their community provides it. Say they need a car for work then they drive a community car rather than owning it. They do not pay taxes and their order provides for their health care and takes care of them in retirement.

Diocesan priests (sometimes called secular priests) do not take a vow of poverty. These are the typical priests you see in most parishes. Their superior is the Diocesan bishop. The pay scale for these priests depends on the diocese they are in so it varies greatly. They receive salaries and pay taxes and own things and pay into Social Security. If they are driving a car they are usually the owners of that car and paying insurance out of their own pocket.

Normally there is a pay scale for each diocese and all of the priests are paid uniformly. There is often a slight difference in pay based on years of service but there is usually no difference based on rank or job. Therefore two priests who are ordained twenty years are paid the same whether one is a pastor and the other is a parochial vicar or one is a Monsignor and the other is not.

There is no way to give an accurate amount but I can tell you that Mike's estimate of $11,000 is way too low. You could barely operate a car for that.

On the other hand, he was correct that it is modest. No priest is getting rich off of his salary.

I hope this is helpful.

Fr. Jonathan