Guys, if you could be married and a priest would you?

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Then, how would you deal with priests who later divorced? With priests having modest means and incomes, how would they deal with their obligations to pay for child supports and alimonies? If/when their wives abandoned them and left them with children, how would they manage their priestly duties and their duties to care for their children? How would the lives of their children be affected when they are moved from one parish to another parish or to different parts of the country or the world? What about civilly, remarried priest, with the loosely/accepted interpretation of Amoris Laetitia, would they be allowed to consecrate hosts, receive communion and perform other sacraments?
 
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Acknowleding your divided is ok, being troubled is ok.

We’re on the same page here. I thought yoi were trying to say it was a debate as to what to do when the answer should be obvious.
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
And weddings are incredibly planned events. My parents traveled hundreds of miles for mine. If the priest had to “postpone” then my parents would not have been able to attend. Granted, I was lucky enough to have 2 priests (both friends of DH and I) but missing a wedding is more than just an inconvenience.
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Add to that that most weddings take up to two years to plan and a last minute change could potentially cost you thousands of euro.
 
In real life, what would happen is the priest would either try to get a substitute last minute, or rush through the wedding and then deal with his family commitment. Neither of which are great choices.
 
It is morally permissible to have secular priests who are married.

The Church has always had them and she still does have them.

The Latin Church just needs to modify her discipline to conform with the Eastern Catholic Churches.

I had a great Priest who was married when I was a Russian Orthodox catechumen. His wife was always by his side - at the liturgys, when he went to bless peoples homes, when he went to administer last rites. I actually prefered him over the celibate Priest at the Parish I was at.
 
I used to spend 10 - 20 hours a week at my parish doing volunteer work in youth ministry, while working full-time. In the later years, I was married to my wife, and we had a young child.

Needless to say, I understood better the practical elements of celibacy after that. And why in our diocese Deacons can only be ordained when their youngest child is 14.
 
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Ordination to the priesthood is a divine calling. The only way to test that call is to apply to the seminary. The current and longstanding practice of the Latin Church is priestly celibacy. If you can’t see yourself as a priest without also having a wife, that is a red flag. First step - find a good spiritual director (I always recommend priests of the Fraternity of Saint Peter, if you are blessed to have any nearby.)
 
Yes…which is why celibate priests are a better option.

There’s also the theological aspect to this. That celibacy is following most closely the life of Christ and therefore is a higher calling in life than anything else.
And those who answer that call and live it well recieve a richer reward in heaven.

Btw…even the Orthodox have this belief to an extent.
 
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AdamPeter said:
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Xanthippe_Voorhees:
And weddings are incredibly planned events. My parents traveled hundreds of miles for mine. If the priest had to “postpone” then my parents would not have been able to attend. Granted, I was lucky enough to have 2 priests (both friends of DH and I) but missing a wedding is more than just an inconvenience.
Click to expand...
Add to that that most weddings take up to two years to plan and a last minute change could potentially cost you thousands of euro.
Click to expand...
C’mon guys. You can always “what if” yourself into a corner.

What if the priest is getting ready to administer last rites to a dying man that will be dead in 30 seconds… AND ANOTHER EQUALLY IMMINANTLY DYING MAN NEEDS THEM ALSO???

Dun-dun-duhhhhhhhh. :roll_eyes:
 
Vonsalza said:
AdamPeter:
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Xanthippe_Voorhees:
And weddings are incredibly planned events. My parents traveled hundreds of miles for mine. If the priest had to “postpone” then my parents would not have been able to attend. Granted, I was lucky enough to have 2 priests (both friends of DH and I) but missing a wedding is more than just an inconvenience.
Click to expand...
Add to that that most weddings take up to two years to plan and a last minute change could potentially cost you thousands of euro.
Click to expand...
C’mon guys. You can always “what if” yourself into a corner.

What if the priest is getting ready to administer last rites to a dying man that will be dead in 30 seconds… AND ANOTHER EQUALLY IMMINANTLY DYING MAN NEEDS THEM ALSO???

Dun-dun-duhhhhhhhh. :roll_eyes:
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With 2 serious vocational obligations you’re going to double your chances of something like that happening.

:roll_eyes:
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
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Vonsalza:
AdamPeter:
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Xanthippe_Voorhees:
And weddings are incredibly planned events. My parents traveled hundreds of miles for mine. If the priest had to “postpone” then my parents would not have been able to attend. Granted, I was lucky enough to have 2 priests (both friends of DH and I) but missing a wedding is more than just an inconvenience.
Click to expand...
Add to that that most weddings take up to two years to plan and a last minute change could potentially cost you thousands of euro.
Click to expand...
C’mon guys. You can always “what if” yourself into a corner.

What if the priest is getting ready to administer last rites to a dying man that will be dead in 30 seconds… AND ANOTHER EQUALLY IMMINANTLY DYING MAN NEEDS THEM ALSO???

Dun-dun-duhhhhhhhh. :roll_eyes:
Click to expand...
With 2 serious vocational obligations you’re going to double your chances of something like that happening.

:roll_eyes:
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The double of “infinitesimally small” is still “infinitesimally small”.
 
The point is that a married priest with children is going to have a lot more demands on his time than a celibate priest.

Another thing is that if the Church wants more good priests there must also be strong Catholic families. IMO it’s better for a father to be there for his wife and kids when they need him than having a whole other vocation that will also demand 100% of his time.
 
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AdamPeter said:
The point is that a married man with children is going to have a lot more demands on his time than a celibate priest.

Another thing is that if the Church wants more good priests there must also be strong Catholic families. IMO it’s better for a father to be there for his wife and kids when they need him than having a whole other vocation that will also demand 100% of his time.
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Oh. You mean like any other modern 50-60 hour/wk career?

The property manager for the building I work in is a half-a-million a year kinda guy. You think not answering his phone at 2am when work rings is an option???

Negative. Aggressively negative.
 
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Vonsalza said:
The double of “infinitesimally small” is still “infinitesimally small”.
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When you have a biggish family (or even 2-3 kids), the odds of a family crisis happening during work hours is never “infinitessimally small.”
 
The posts in this thread ought to start off with “I have been married x times, am currently (married) (not married), and I have y kids, I earn $z/year, and my opinion is…” 😛

It would be interesting to see the demographics behind the opinions. 😉 With the spouses some guys pick, they’d be lucky to be able to juggle a spouse and a parish, let alone a big, traditional family of 4/8/12 kids. And then to support that family on a priest’s income (which is a median wage of $33k/year). And that’s totally ignoring actually having the time to have a relationship with that family. I know my priests are busy from before sunrise to 9 or 10 at night some nights.
 
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Xantippe said:
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Vonsalza:
The double of “infinitesimally small” is still “infinitesimally small”.
Click to expand...
When you have a biggish family (or even 2-3 kids), the odds of a family crisis happening during work hours is never “infinitessimally small.”
Click to expand...
I have roughly that many kids.

We do not routinely experience crises.
 
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