yup--Not all members of orders are actually priests,
there are a numbers degrees to orders -priest are one set of orders, brothers/monks another set, (many monks take vows of povery, priest do not--but if a man is a member of an order that has vows of poverty, and a priest as well, he is bound by the orders vows of poverty)
there are also orders for women (nuns)
and there are lay orders. the lay order of franciscans, who live in semi poverty, work with the poor, own not much more than the clothes on their backs...most orders have 'lay orders'... some are almost non existant.
for both monks and nuns there are cloistered, semi cloistered orders. semi cloistered nuns (i suspect the same is true for monks, but i don't know) can not live or travel alone (that means they can not even walk on a public street by themselves)
there are orders that take vows of silence.. (and do not speak aloud except to pray/sing)
generally nuns/monks take vows of poverty, chasity, and obedience. vows of silence and full cloistering are known, but less common.
a vow of poverty mean they are not permitted to own anything personally, (the franciscans take this to the extreme, and the order doesn't even own its monistaries), nor can they give or recieve any property.
property is held communally (by the order) and shared as needed. most orders of nuns/monks are required to live in convent/monistary.
some orders have requirements of physical labor, (they used to work farms, and grow their own food, some still do, but nowdays some work as nurses, or other professions, and all of their salary is paid to the order, not to them personally. (one order i know of, is required to spend a small portion of each day working in graveyard, and graves are dug, communially --in theory, each brother must dig his own grave.)
diocesan priests, on the other hand, have a 'responsiblity' of office (a group/period of required prayer every day),and vows of celbacy(as well as chasity), and not much else. they are often 'employees' of a diocies, and have assign work, (sick calls, funerals, weddings, daily masses) but they can hold part time jobs, (and pocket the salary), they can inherit money, recieve (and keep) gifts, like cars, or homes...if they are employeed as diocesan priests, they are often required to live in rectory.
a priest can become 'unemployed'--but its rare.-- especially nowdays when there is a shortage of priests.
they are free to join the military, or to go to school (and become doctors or lawyers, enginneers, or what ever-if they have the personal resourses)
orders of monks(and nuns) will sometimes send a monk to 'school', if the order has a need--but that is less common..the ursulines are an order dedicated to education, and they are semi cloistered, they used to 'assign' a nun to be financial 'officier'--the nun would often end being a certified public accountant, and manage the 'houses' investments, retirement funds, lay salaries, and all the fiscal responsiblities of the order.--but the ursulines also 'discourged' young women without college (undergraduate) degrees from joining the order.. they were 'counselled' to contemplate their vocation as they privately persued their education.
(convents also 'suggested' the proper amount for a 'dowery'-it wasn't 'required', but they did suggest rather firmly.
nuns are the only ones i know who still have 'offical doweries')
