Expert: Griff Ruby - 5/7/2009

Question
Is a priest allowed to hold public office e.g. head of an integrity commission?

Answer
The permissions for a priest to serve in any secular capacity or not tend to be of a disciplinary nature, such that the rules can be set (or even set aside) as necessary for particular times, places, or circumstances.
There certainly is something to be said for restricting a priest to only the sacred activities, but there has never been any hard fast rule about that, even clear back to the days that the Apostle Paul turned to a tentmaking trade to sustain himself while serving the Church as one of Her bishops.
If said priest has asked his bishop for permission to so serve, and his bishop has granted it, then I really see no room to question it.  If he has not, then it might at least be fair to insist he check with his bishop, or at least be able to show where and by what law he is permitted.  For it is also possible that rules against serving in a political office might not apply to the case of temporary "offices" such as those heading up an integrity commission.
This is all that I can help you with here, hope it helped!  God bless.