Hi, this is Rusty Reno with First Things Magazine, and this is the editor's desk where we talk with authors of recent articles in First Things Magazine.

And I'm just so pleased to have

with me, Father Timothy Kusick, who teaches moral theology at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary,

and we're going to talk about his essay in the March 2022 issue on priestly poverty.

Well, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you.

I'm delighted to be here.

Thanks for having me.

So in my experience, many Catholics and certainly all Protestants believe that every Catholic

priest has taken a vow of poverty, but that turns out not to be true.

No, it's not. And there's a distinction that we make between parish priest,

diocesan priests, or secular priests, so that's one category.

That always baffles people. Wait a minute. How can you be a secular priest?

I thought you're very religious.

Well, it's opposed to those priests who belong to religious communities, just such as the Benedictine monks, the Franciscan friars, or the Jesuits.

And those who are in those particular communities follow what are called the evangelical

councils from the gospel of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

And so they take those vows.

Parish priests, on the other hand, make promises of celibacy and obedience to their bishop,

but they have not been required to take any kind of vow of poverty.

When you go through seminary, you're encouraged to live a simple life,

but that can be interpreted in many different ways.

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