Also called: Diocesan Canonist, Church Tribunal Judge
Works in a Catholic diocese's church court applying church law, most often deciding whether marriages can be declared null.
Your desk holds a file from a couple who divorced years ago and asked the church for an annulment. You read testimony from both spouses and witnesses, apply the church's centuries-old law code, and write a decision. Other days you advise the bishop on parish property or rules for priests.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 7 years after high school. A church-law licentiate (JCL), usually after a bachelor's and theology study; open to lay people too.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Canon Law, Theology, Philosophy, Latin.
Growing about average. Steady; every Catholic diocese runs a tribunal.
Low risk for 10 years. AI can search church law texts; weighing testimony and making pastoral judgments stay human.
Classes: Latin, AP European History, English composition.
Official data: O*NET occupation 23-1011.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.