Hi,

What is the church's stance on paying legal fees for Priests?
For example, should donations intended for philanthropy be used to defend "offendors" who admit that they are guilty? Is it our duty to aid the rehabilitation of the clergy?
If so, to what extent?

Priests should be paid a living wage, where they will have their own resourses to pay for their own legal services like any other professional would. As long as the church wishes to hold them in a state of poverty, then they have more obligation for them.

Also of course there is a small percent of this that ever happens, since the largest majority committ few crimes outside traffic tickets, or refusal to give out info from confesion which requires legal representation.

But even those churches that pay their ministers a living wage, most still stand by their ministers, locally they are paying for the legal needs of the pastors wife who killed the pastor, In Atlanta, the "concerned black clergy" often spend money on legal defense of others, the one I remember the best is the leader of the Church of the Black madona who was convcited of killing a police officer

So it is fairly common practice though out all the religions