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fantrl
Guest
I’d assume any well formed individual would simply go to a priest that he’s not related to.
It’s no different than a priest who is a son/brother.
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It’s no different than a priest who is a son/brother.
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G_S
Guest
No problem for centuries? Amazing!It’s been that way in the villages of Eastern Europe and Ukriane for centuries; they have married priests and they’ve had no problems so far…
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mosher
Guest
Deacon Ed is right on the money. In the seminary those training to hear confessions in what we called a practicum are normally strongly advised against hearing the confessions of close family members and even in some cases very close friends. However, since there is no law against it there is no real restriction but I think that it is just a reasonable conclusion when it comes to human nature.
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Khoria_Anna
Guest
I was told in Orthodox seminary that I could not go to my husband for Confession. . . so I go to a Latin rite priest. It was ok for dd to go to “father daddy” for confession, tho. Now that she’s a teen and is no longer lisping about taking an extra cookie from the jar, she’s got her own confessor.
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Damascus
Guest
I did not know women went to seminary! Wow. Good for you!
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palmas85
Guest
While married priests are accepted in the Eastern and Orthodox Churces it is good to remember several things.It’s been that way in the villages of Eastern Europe and Ukriane for centuries; they have married priests and they’ve had no problems so far…
Marriage must exist before ordination. The Priest cannot marry after ordination.
Bishops must be un-married.
If a Priest is married and his wife dies he cannot re-marry.
There must be a reason for these restrictions.
And you think that the possibility of hearing the confession of a spouse or child is a primary reason? It just seems to me that would be such a minor issue compared to other reasons for marriage restrictions.
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Khoria_Anna
Guest
Actually, I didn’t, but lived on campus with dh while he was in Orthodox seminary.I did not know women went to seminary! Wow. Good for you!
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tequilamac
Guest
No that is not true. We have quite a few married priests. The Roman Catholic Church will allow a married priest with children if he was married with children before he converted to Catholicism. Case in point- we have several priests married with children who were in that condition when they were Anglican priests. After conversion, they are validly ordained, live with their wives and children. Usually they do notreceive the responsibility of a parish and instead do things like prison ministry and I believe they can work in ministries with single people but there is some kind of restriction on how they funciton with family parishioners. I have never seen one hear confessions in the parish Church so that may be disallowed and I sort of assume they hear confessions at the women’s prison. They definately celebrate Mass there.
This is becoming a common occurrence now in the Church as we do not allow married priests from the Roman rite as a rule and we have a priestly shortage. But we do have married priests with children. Yes.
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Patchunky
Guest
and don’t forget that the sons of priests married the daughters of priests and became
priests themselves to raise even more priests
my best friend is a priest with a wife, his father is a priest, his brother is a priest and his sister is a nun… oh, his grandfather was also priest and so was his great-grandfather
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He_Man
Guest
It does beg the question of Priest with children.
If I confessed to my father I was watching pornography in the house, or taking drugs, how would that information transition outside the confessional?
he has a responsibility as priest (nay, a sworn oath even), and also a responsibility as a father.
Or as someone said, if he was to confessed to by his wife that she was having an affair. Just bad circumstances to be in…
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Sam88
Guest
It would seem to me that hearing the confession of a close relative or even a very close friend could be in some cases a near occasion of sin.
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Khoria_Anna
Guest
When we were Orthodox and dh was assigned a parish in the stix, dh and I had to wait until a priest happened by to visit or we had to drive 500 miles to the nearest priest or wait until the next available church-wide conference. Priests need confession, too, so if there’s not a priest to hear the wife’s confession, there’s no one to hear his, either.
DD preferred to confess to Father Daddy until she became older and Father Daddy found her own confessor – which at that age, she preferred. Now that we’re Catholic, in an area where there are few Eastern Catholics, DD, Father and I have our own (different) confessors from the western tradition – infinitely more convenient for all three of us.
Khoria Anna
DD preferred to confess to Father Daddy until she became older and Father Daddy found her own confessor – which at that age, she preferred. Now that we’re Catholic, in an area where there are few Eastern Catholics, DD, Father and I have our own (different) confessors from the western tradition – infinitely more convenient for all three of us.
Khoria Anna
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Nan_S
Guest
Allow me to introduce you to Reverend Father James McLelland, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Shreveport, LA.
Fr. James McLelland was ordained a Catholic Priest after serving 20 years as a minister in the United Methodist Church. He and his wife, Velma, hosted a Catholic exchange student, who led Velma into the Catholic Church. About 2 years later, Fr. James resigned as pastor in the Methodist Church and began study for the Catholic Priesthood. He was part of the Ordination Class of 2000 after receiving official approval from the Vatican.
I’ll never forget his first Sunday as a Catholic Priest, when he was made associate pastor of St. Jude Catholic Church. PLENTY of heads snapped upon hearing our pastor introduce Father James McLelland, his wife Velma, their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.
(The pastor had prepared the congregation in advance, but who listens to announcements anyway?)
You won’t find any pictures of Velma McLelland on St. Catherine’s website. She serves elsewhere in the diocese, but is sensitive to the issues and keeps a low profile.
We’re privileged to have them both.
Nan
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Joe_Monahan
Guest
That would certainly come as news to my Orthodox brethren or even to a significant number of Eastern and Oriental Catholic hierarchs.
Joe
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Chris_McAvoy
Guest
Where I live theres plenty of Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox priests to give confession anytime anywhere and I can assure you it is infinitely more wonderful than the Western Roman version of Confession. Nothing can beat looking into the Holy Mandylion not made by Human Hands Icon
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wannabee
Guest
EXCUSE ME
but what the heck has that post to do with the topic ?
Yes Confession in the Eastern Churches is a wonderful Mystery - and I’m sure it is in the West too - BUT we are discussing the problems of a wife confessing to her husband - who is a PRIEST - oh there could really be problems here
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Rferg
Guest
Did you know that priest were married in the OT. Aaron and his sons were married and Zacariah (John the baptist father -high priest). In the NT Peter the apostle was also married. There is no teaching in the bible that priest should remain unmarried but on the contrary. In the NT it gives a qualification for an overseer of a church.
1 Timothy 3:1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer it is a fine work he desires to do.2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife (not single), temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pungnacious, but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money,4He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control (how can you manage children if your not married and have a wife to have children with) with all dignity 5 but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God. (This man who is an overseer is an example and if he doesn’t qualify he needs to be fired.)
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Marian_Carroll
Guest
**The topic of this thread is:
Can a married priest absolve his own family?
If that topic is concluded, time to close the thread.**
Can a married priest absolve his own family?
If that topic is concluded, time to close the thread.**
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Khoria_Anna
Guest
When I was Orthodox, I was told that was forbidden for a wife to confess to her own husband. If I remember correctly, it was said, “you can no more receive absolution from your husband than he can receive absolution from himself”.
I recently asked my confessor (who is also a Catholic canon lawyer) what the position is in the Catholic Church on that issue. He said that a priest-husband hearing his own wife’s confession presents a moral impediment. If the plane was “going down”, father-dh could hear my confession, otherwise, no, he can’t.
I recently asked my confessor (who is also a Catholic canon lawyer) what the position is in the Catholic Church on that issue. He said that a priest-husband hearing his own wife’s confession presents a moral impediment. If the plane was “going down”, father-dh could hear my confession, otherwise, no, he can’t.
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