Tirana, May. 26, 2008 (CWNews.com) - A union of clergymen has been described as "uncanonical" and "illegal" by the Romanian Orthodox patriarchate.
The Good Shepherd priests’ union wants transparency and respect for the rights of clerics in the Romanian Orthodox Church, of which 88% of Romanians are baptized members. The Romanian patriarchate issued a press release stating, “A priest is not a lay employee of a corporation. He can not strike or refuse to fulfill his mission of baptizing children, blessing marriages and distributing the sacraments because he thinks his salary is too low.” The Romanian government pays the salary of Orthodox priests.