"In terms of making loved ones happy, it should be your presence that does that, not expensive gifts or holidays. True love doesn't involve giving items that are material and nor should we send a message that it involves such an activity. A church priest/pastor is there to be a role model to others and if they are nothing much more than a clone of everyone else, then I am not fully sure what their exact role actually is."

It doesn't matter how much sun shines out of my backside in a kids eyes,
whether you play and connect with them, tell lies about everything when they're little and make them cack themselves laughing all the time.

Like it or not, the world is materialistic.
And it's not necessarily about being materialistic, but of the kids you love not feeling like they came up short with the cards life dealt them.

Of course they want to pinch mums fone and play games, then have their own ipad, then they want to places, experience things, next they want to play roblox with their friends, and your shelling out for in-game purchases, then you're buying all sorts of junk off Temu, and they want an iphone etc. etc. and it all costs money.

You want to be the one to tell them they don't deserve to have what the other kids have?
No kid wants to not have what the other kids have.
Not even the most perfect children who ask for little and never complain.

If you really love them, then it makes you happy to see them happy.
The smile on your face seeing the smile on theirs is all you need.
- And the money is well spent.

"You may like to know there is nothing wrong in living your life as a single person."
- I never said there was anything wrong with being single.

Armchair Critic,

In the Bible it says:

"Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows." From 1 Timothy 6:9-10

So, as a principle, a church pastor or priest should not go against the readings of the Holy Bible. It is meant to be their guiding direction and they should follow it. They should take it as it says.

They should treat its words with respect. There are so many words of meaning in the Bible and a church pastor or priest should be setting a good example for their followers on what pathway to go down. A life based around money is not one of them and nor should it be.

I hopefully one day will see a church pastor or priest who chooses to take nothing from their church or religion, except a basic stipend and maybe a box of food to go through each week and some clothes to wear. They may also be provided a home via a church member or members as churches used to do in previous times, like a church manse or place for the pastor/priest to reside. Some churches I believe still have such places from previous time periods and still use them for such purposes.

Hi Nathan,

Probably the closest to what you see as ideal, are traditional Buddhist Monks who totally rely on the generosity of the community for sustenance as they travel around the country. Buddha extolled his disciples not spend more than 3 days in any persons house as it could be too great an imposition upon the people.

who totally rely on the generosity of the community for sustenance as they travel around the country
Paul1405,
Now there's a principle for those who don't have any allegiance to Australia yet live here & promote dark ages ideology even to the point of exploiting the term racism to achieve this Nation's downfall ! All in the name of religion !

The Dalai Lama does not have a salary because he is a Buddhist monk and his monastery provides for his basic needs like food, housing, and clothing. All monetary donations made to him go to charity and the monastery, which uses the funds to operate and support its charitable work.
No salary or personal finances: As a monk, he does not receive a salary, own personal finances, or have personal possessions beyond what is needed for his religious practice and daily life.

Catholic Church in Australia:
While there is no single salary figure for all bishops in Australia, diocesan bishops' minimum recommended stipends are projected to be around $82,464.74 from January 1, 2026. Bishops also receive benefits like housing, a travel allowance, and superannuation contributions, which can significantly increase their total compensation.

BTW: The Pope does not receive any direct payment.

Claiming not getting paid whilst receiving everything you need is in itself corruption or at the least a severe example of parasitism .