Are Priests Allowed to Have Long Hair?

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We had a priest a few years ago who had very long hair that often was in a pony tail. His wallet was on a chain, and he wore a beard. He was a great priest, though I am sure few meeting him in street clothing would have guessed his vocation. Maybe it’s because I was a teen in the sixties, but I thought it could help him relate with young people.
 
St. Charles Borromeo once asked Cardinal Baronio to do an historical/theological investigation as to whether it was OK for priests to have beards. He wanted to know for his seminarians and priests in the Diocese of Milan.
 
“Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” Ecclesiastes 1:2

I used to struggle with anxieties over vanity and tried so hard to be free of those temptations. I was at the point of thinking I would be free of these temptations- if some terrible accident happened to me to grossly disfigure my features. I thought of Blessed (at the time) Kateri Tekawitha and how her disease scarred face cleared upon her death. Then suddenly I realized, what if I went through all of that horrible pain only to discover that I was still vain, thinking about how beautiful I would appear in death. And then a “thought” suddenly came to my mind and freed me of these anxieties, but did not free of my fault.
 
YoungTradCath said:
That’s as silly as asking, “Is culture different between the US and Japan?” Of course vanity is different between the East and West. Why are you trying to entrap me?
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I’m not trying to entrap you. I’m just curious why you think I was making a distinction between East and West or muddling the lines here. Long hair has always been seen as an abomination especially for men. In fact, doesn’t Levitical law even forbid Jewish men from having long hair like women? I mean, even Sikhs who do not cut their own hair as part of their faith do not flaunt their long hair, but neatly tuck it inside a turban. Its only in modern times that long hair can be a source of vanity for men because of all the hair care products that can help you style and make your hair shiny and all that.

You know I always ask my questions directly. There is nothing more to my question than my question itself. I am not aware of anything in history where men with long hair is seen as vanity in any culture.
 
not sure where this fellow has been, but he had quite a following a few years ago on the web

thepunkpriest.com/news.asp

I remember reading that his Masses were packed, and he was a powerful preacher
 
freshwind said:
not sure where this fellow has been, but he had quite a following a few years ago on the web

thepunkpriest.com/news.asp

I remember reading that his Masses were packed, and he was a powerful preacher
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Looks more like a punk rocker-lol!!! Does he drive a Harley? This is so utterly cool-a priest who can get down on the youths’ level.👍
 
I don’t care whether a priest has long or short hair, but apparently in my diocese, diocesan priests are not permitted to have long hair. I only found this out from a priest at my childhood parish who used himself as an example in one of his homilies. He used to have long hair, but once he entered the seminary and became a priest, the rule was that seminarians and priests had to have their hair short. As much as he wanted his pony-tail, he had to obey and submit to never having long hair again. It explains why I have never met a diocesan priest in my diocese with long hair.
 
Jerry-Jet said:
How long was Jesus’ hair?
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From what I understand, Jewish men kept their hair distinctly shorter than Jewish women. That said, their style still could have been distinctly longer than the Hellenistic style of the Romans. So my best guess is shoulder-length, which seems to be supported by the Shroud of Turin. In which case, “long” women’s hair might have been commonly going way down their backs.
 
lauraabarlow said:
Maybe the priest with long hair just want to be different-I see no problem-of course, I grew up during the "70s era-so this isn’t shocking to me. If I am not mistaken, I think there is a priest from Huntington, California who has long hair and surfs-now that is definitely being unique-lol 🙂
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If it is the priest I am thinking about; his maternal grandfather is John Wayne.
 
As someone already said, it’s a cultural thing. Here’s Fr. Garry Laboucane, OMI.
 
YoungTradCath said:
Why is that a justification? Most men of that era had long hair.
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And so right back at you: what’s your point? Many men of this generation also have long hair.
As long as priests are preaching and teaching the gospel and celebrating the sacraments with integrity, strength, and joy, who cares how long their hair is?

We demand so much of them, is it fair to tell them how to groom themselves?
 
Alex2008 said:
And so right back at you: what’s your point? Many men of this generation also have long hair.
As long as priests are preaching and teaching the gospel and celebrating the sacraments with integrity, strength, and joy, who cares how long their hair is?

We demand so much of them, is it fair to tell them how to groom themselves?
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In some places, long hair on a man would be distracting. It’s not always about discipline, it’s just about looking decent and professional.
 
Zundrah said:
In some places, long hair on a man would be distracting. It’s not always about discipline, it’s just about looking decent and professional.
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This is true . . . but then again, a man who shaves his head may be distracting as well. And of course, looking decent and professional depends on where one lives and what profession one practices.
 
What I don’t understand is the prohibition on beards in seminary.

It just makes no sense.
 
Crusader83 said:
What I don’t understand is the prohibition on beards in seminary.

It just makes no sense.
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There was no prohibition on beards when I attended the seminary. I agree, such a prohibition makes little sense to me.
 
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