S
stumbler
Guest
by JOSEPH PRONECHEN
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Alvin Kimel has decided to leave the priesthood. And he wants to become a priest.
He’s married, but that’s not necessarily a barrier.
Kimel could become the 80th former Episcopal priest to become a Catholic priest in the quarter century since Pope John Paul II approved what is known as the Pastoral Provision. June 20 marks the 25th anniversary of the late Pope’s approval.
On May 18, Kimel told his parishioners at St. Mark’s Church in Johnstown, Pa., that he considers the American branch of Anglicanism to be “heretical,” because two years ago it approved the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions.
“In the name of an ideology of radical inclusivity, the Episcopal Church has moved significantly away from the apostolic and catholic faith of Jesus Christ,” he said, adding that he “must be in the Church founded by Christ Jesus.”
But if Kimel, who is married, is ultimately ordained, it is unlikely to raise an outcry to make celibacy optional. That did not happen with the ordination as a Catholic priest of a married former Episcopal minister in Scotland, or the announcement late last year that another Episcopal priest from Pennsylvania would seek Catholic orders.
Nor is the abolition of celibacy on the agenda of former Episcopal priests who “swim the Tiber.”
“I don’t think any of us who are married stand against the discipline of celibacy,” said Father James Parker, pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Johns Island, S.C. Father Parker was the first to petition Rome for the Pastoral Provision.
“We are grateful for what the Holy See allowed for us,” he said, “but we hope we’re not seen as a process for others to get married.”
Father Christopher Phillips, pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas, was among the first to be ordained under the provision in 1983. He’s married and has five grown children. His thoughts on celibacy remain constant.
“To a man, we did not have any agenda,” Father Phillips explained. “We wanted only to become fully Catholic. God was merciful and allowed this to happen. I see it very much as an exception to the rule and a tremendous favor to me.”
He said he resented those who tried to use this “situation to chip away, whether it be celibacy or any number of issues.” That happened in the early days.
“The moment we got here,” he pointed out, “it was astonishing to see the number of people who wanted to use us to fight battles already there long before we arrived on the scene.”
Anglican Use
Father Phillips sees the commitment required in marriage and celibacy as two sides of the same coin because they call for giving oneself for others. To see priestly celibacy in practical issues only — such as the fact that a celibate priest will have more time to give — is a mistake.
“You must see its spiritual values, its sense of sacrifice,” he said. “I think the Church has outlined the whole idea as being in imitation of the life of Christ, a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of something more than oneself.”
Like Our Lady of the Atonement, St. Athanasius in West Roxbury, Mass., is an “Anglican use congregation,” a “parish” allowed under the Pastoral Provision to retain certain liturgical elements from the Anglican tradition that were approved by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for the Liturgy. . . .
Full article
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Alvin Kimel has decided to leave the priesthood. And he wants to become a priest.
He’s married, but that’s not necessarily a barrier.
Kimel could become the 80th former Episcopal priest to become a Catholic priest in the quarter century since Pope John Paul II approved what is known as the Pastoral Provision. June 20 marks the 25th anniversary of the late Pope’s approval.
On May 18, Kimel told his parishioners at St. Mark’s Church in Johnstown, Pa., that he considers the American branch of Anglicanism to be “heretical,” because two years ago it approved the ordination of non-celibate homosexuals and the blessing of same-sex unions.
“In the name of an ideology of radical inclusivity, the Episcopal Church has moved significantly away from the apostolic and catholic faith of Jesus Christ,” he said, adding that he “must be in the Church founded by Christ Jesus.”
But if Kimel, who is married, is ultimately ordained, it is unlikely to raise an outcry to make celibacy optional. That did not happen with the ordination as a Catholic priest of a married former Episcopal minister in Scotland, or the announcement late last year that another Episcopal priest from Pennsylvania would seek Catholic orders.
Nor is the abolition of celibacy on the agenda of former Episcopal priests who “swim the Tiber.”
“I don’t think any of us who are married stand against the discipline of celibacy,” said Father James Parker, pastor of Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Johns Island, S.C. Father Parker was the first to petition Rome for the Pastoral Provision.
“We are grateful for what the Holy See allowed for us,” he said, “but we hope we’re not seen as a process for others to get married.”
Father Christopher Phillips, pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church in San Antonio, Texas, was among the first to be ordained under the provision in 1983. He’s married and has five grown children. His thoughts on celibacy remain constant.
“To a man, we did not have any agenda,” Father Phillips explained. “We wanted only to become fully Catholic. God was merciful and allowed this to happen. I see it very much as an exception to the rule and a tremendous favor to me.”
He said he resented those who tried to use this “situation to chip away, whether it be celibacy or any number of issues.” That happened in the early days.
“The moment we got here,” he pointed out, “it was astonishing to see the number of people who wanted to use us to fight battles already there long before we arrived on the scene.”
Anglican Use
Father Phillips sees the commitment required in marriage and celibacy as two sides of the same coin because they call for giving oneself for others. To see priestly celibacy in practical issues only — such as the fact that a celibate priest will have more time to give — is a mistake.
“You must see its spiritual values, its sense of sacrifice,” he said. “I think the Church has outlined the whole idea as being in imitation of the life of Christ, a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of something more than oneself.”
Like Our Lady of the Atonement, St. Athanasius in West Roxbury, Mass., is an “Anglican use congregation,” a “parish” allowed under the Pastoral Provision to retain certain liturgical elements from the Anglican tradition that were approved by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee for the Liturgy. . . .
Full article