Can a man join a religious order if he has a minor child?

[brian.standridge]

Pretty simple here. Just wondering if this is a disqualification (i.e child support payments). My family supports my discernment of a vocation and have actually volunteered to pay the $200 that I owe every month. My teenage daughter supports me too. Any answers?

 

[Fauken]

I’m pretty sure you can’t, no. You’d have to wait until your daughter becomes a legal adult.

 

[Cirdan_XII]

Discuss this with your priest, or with members of the order you wish to join. I think they will offer more valid advice than this forum.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

This has been discussed in the past when Catholic Answers had professional apologists answering some of these questions. Based on the past threads that survived the move to the new forum, there are a number of other factors that get considered in addition to child support and you would be best off discussing your specific situation with the specific order that you wish to join.

 

[Hoosier-Daddy]

Obviously in a few years you can revisit but you don’t have a vocation that includes you having someone else pay child support. 200? I don’t know much about child support but yikes!

 

[edward_george1]

Does this aspect of your situation have anything to do with your other thread, where you’re asking about joining a religious community outside the United States? If I were a vocations director, the combination of these two questions would strike me as at best a bit suspicious.

-Fr ACEGC