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mdef303
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Hetrosexual of course…
What are your thoughts…
What are your thoughts…
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CatholicRaven
Guest
I disagree. I think it would cause more problems than it would fix (and I don’t know that it would fix any problems to begin with).
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edwest2
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It will never happen.
Pope Paul VI:
w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_24061967_sacerdotalis.html
Ed
Pope Paul VI:
w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_24061967_sacerdotalis.html
Ed
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adamhovey1988
Guest
Eastern Christians have ordained married priests but they cannot be married after they are ordained. It is not impossible for the West have married priests but because priests took on a monastic role in the West I feel like it would be a bad idea.
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mdef303
Guest
As foreign as the concept may seem today, the first pope, St. Peter, was married.
Catholic priests were allowed to be married until the 12th century.
Great article>>>>
thinkprogress.org/health/2014/07/14/3459644/pope-franics-priestly-celibacy/
But the question remains: does the pope really want to change the church’s policy on priestly celibacy, and if he does, is that even within his power?
At least one of those questions is easy to answer: yes, Francis can change the church’s policy. Priestly celibacy is only canon law, or a man-made rule, and not church dogma or doctrine. Priestly celibacy didn’t even exist in early Christianity, with several early popes (including Jesus’ disciple Simon Peter), bishops, and priests marrying and fathering children during the church’s first three centuries. The tradition of clerical continence doesn’t show up until the Council of Elvira around 305-306 CE, and wasn’t even formally codified into canon law until 1917.
Catholic priests were allowed to be married until the 12th century.
Great article>>>>
thinkprogress.org/health/2014/07/14/3459644/pope-franics-priestly-celibacy/
But the question remains: does the pope really want to change the church’s policy on priestly celibacy, and if he does, is that even within his power?
At least one of those questions is easy to answer: yes, Francis can change the church’s policy. Priestly celibacy is only canon law, or a man-made rule, and not church dogma or doctrine. Priestly celibacy didn’t even exist in early Christianity, with several early popes (including Jesus’ disciple Simon Peter), bishops, and priests marrying and fathering children during the church’s first three centuries. The tradition of clerical continence doesn’t show up until the Council of Elvira around 305-306 CE, and wasn’t even formally codified into canon law until 1917.
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thephilosopher6
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Many Eastern Catholic priest are married. I prefer the practice of priestly celibacy. The Latin Church has been practicing it for about 1000 years. But seeing that it is a discipline and not a doctrine of any kind, the Pope may stop the practice.
Never going to happen.
What will more likely be possible is to ordain married men as priests.
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Little_Sheep
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The Catholic Church already does ordain married men as priests. I agree that the celibacy requirement is one of the things killing the priesthood. It certainly could be changed. It was not always a requirement.
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phil19034
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FIRST: Priests have never been allowed to get married. Even in the Orthodox Church, priests are not allowed to get married. However, MARRIED MEN are allowed to become priests. The Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches allow MARRIED MEN to become priests, just like a MARRIED MAN can become a Deacon in the West.
**NOW: Why Married men should not generally be allowed to become priests…
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It’s not an issue of just theology. It’s an issue of logistics.
There are reasons why the Latin Church worked for centuries to slowly create an all celibate priesthood.
Let’s just look at the modern parish today. Priests in the US are paid approx $25,000 + plus health benefits and the rectory to live in. Typically, more than one priest lives in each rectory. If priests are to marry, they are going to need to be paid a lot more money. They will need to send their kids to Catholic School (even if that’s a free benefit for them, the diocese would need to cover their costs). They will need to send their kids to a devout Catholic College. Since they won’t be using birth control, they may have many children. Unless they receive significant raises in salary, the mother will need to work in order to support the family, which means full-time nanny.
Many priests work around the clock, from the time they wake up until the time they go to bed (visiting the sick, attending meetings, hearing confessions, spiritual counseling, writing homilies, praying the hours, funerals, taking care of families who have lost loved ones, etc. We complain that we don’t have enough priests as it is. If we have married priests, they will need time with their families too. So their workload will need to be diminished, which means more priests will be needed. So you either have to pay now a ton more money to several priests, or start hiring part time priests. This becomes a crazy situation, similar to some protestant churches (like the Methodists). Some methodist ministers work part time for several small Methodist Churches, and not full time for any, or just full time for only one.
You have to also remember the size of Roman Rite Catholic Parishes. Many are very large with thousands of families. On average, Protestant and Orthodox churches are not as big, so there are less people for the pastor to help, and more time for his family.
There was a married Catholic priest who died a year or two ago who used to publicly say that it would be a bad idea for the Church to allow married priests to become the norm. He knew first hand how hard it was for a Catholic priest vs. an Anglican one (he used to be Anglican) to have a family.
If the Church made married priests the norm, it would cause a ton of issues that the Catholic Church currently doesn’t have.
Finally, the only thing I could see them doing one day is allowing older, Permanent Deacons who do not have young children become ordained as a “volunteer priest.” But to insure no abuse, they would have to be a Deacon for a set amount of time, be good at homilies, approved by the Bishop, and perhaps be over 60 years of age.
BTW - in regards to St. Peter, tradition says that he was most likely a widower because his wife is never mentioned. Also according to the Jewish tradition at the time, it would have been strange for the things his Mother-in-Law did in scripture not to have been done by his wife, unless she was ill or passed on.
God Bless
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Mary_Estelle
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The Pope does not really "stop’ them per se. They just can’t be priests anymore. There is a good reason that priest need to stay celibate, esp. now while there are so few priest to serve so many. A simplistic answer, I know. Peace
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Sarcelle
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I don’t think there is a possibility of the Pope allowing priests to get married but there is a possibility of ordaining married men. In fact, married men have already been ordained.
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Corki
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Priests cannot marry. Notice I say “cannot” rather than “may not”. Once ordained, a priest cannot marry. I do not have a problem with an expanded use of the dispensation to ordain already married men, which the Church does now in a limited way.
It’s not something that could just happen with a wave of the Pope’s hand, however. Most parishes and priestly assignments would have to be completely reworked to accommodate a priest with a wife and possibly children. And the seminary process is currently not at all conducive to married life. If such a change were to be deemed prudent, it might take decades to make it work.
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phil19034
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This is very true… Married seminarians would most likely have to attend a national seminary dedicated to married seminarians, which means the family would have to leave their home.
The ONLY way this could ever work is by allowing good Permanent Deacons to eventually become ordained as priests after a set period of time. And they would have to do it in a volunteer role, just like they do as Permanent Deacons. They would have to become a new kind of “volunteer priest” corp.
And to avoid abuse, it would be a good thing to make sure they don’t have young children, have been a Deacon for several years, and perhaps being over the typical age limit for priestly candidacy (like being over 55 or 60 years of age). The point is, you would want to make sure this is not the norm, but still the exception.
With that said, I think the best way to increase priestly vocations is to bring back High School Minor Seminaries. Or at least introduce seminary programs into all boys Catholic schools.
God Bless
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JimG
Guest
I recall a talk once given by the wife of a married priest (former Episcopal priest.) She opposed a married priesthood for Catholics for some of the same reasons that have already been mentioned, salary, supporting a family, having time to see one’s family, or neglecting parishioners.
And there would inevitably arise the problem of divorced priests, priests seeking annulments, etc. And what kid would want the undue responsibility of being a priest’s kid?
And there would inevitably arise the problem of divorced priests, priests seeking annulments, etc. And what kid would want the undue responsibility of being a priest’s kid?
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GEddie
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Well, really, no kid ever chooses the circumstances of his parentage!
Our Protestant fellow-sinners have always had preachers’ kids and for the most part, they came out OK.
The adverse consequences of a generally married priesthood can indeed be overcome. The issue is that there is really no compelling reason to do it.
ICXC NIKA
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TimothyH
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We should let the Pope be the Pope and worry about ourselves.
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GEddie
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There are 2 primary reasons given for changing to a married priesthood; to my mind they do not hold up.
A). “The priestly shortage would be cured if seminarians didn’t have to face celibacy.”
First of all, the priestly shortage is mostly a European/NA issue, but the Church is worldwide. Also, celibacy is 1000 years old, but the supposed shortfall in priests is far more recent.
And as was said, priests never “get married.” The deepest change that could occur would be the normative admission of married men to formation. I’d expect that, if celibacy were really such a red flag, we would see men rush out of formation to “find a wife.” This would result, for a generation at least, in fewer priests, not more.
B) “Celibacy is the reason for all the sexual stuff in the recent past.”
No it’s not. Other subsectors that tend to kids (and have never practiced celibacy) have long generated the same problems.
ICXC NIKA.
A). “The priestly shortage would be cured if seminarians didn’t have to face celibacy.”
First of all, the priestly shortage is mostly a European/NA issue, but the Church is worldwide. Also, celibacy is 1000 years old, but the supposed shortfall in priests is far more recent.
And as was said, priests never “get married.” The deepest change that could occur would be the normative admission of married men to formation. I’d expect that, if celibacy were really such a red flag, we would see men rush out of formation to “find a wife.” This would result, for a generation at least, in fewer priests, not more.
B) “Celibacy is the reason for all the sexual stuff in the recent past.”
No it’s not. Other subsectors that tend to kids (and have never practiced celibacy) have long generated the same problems.
ICXC NIKA.
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Brendan
Guest
He had a mother in law, that is correct. But there is no indication that his wife was alive at the time that he left everything to follow Jesus, let alone became Pope.
Widowers can be ordained, and some are ordained still.
(there are two priests in our Archdiocese that are father and son. The son was ordained first, and the father (a widower) was ordained after the son.
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KidCatholic1
Guest
I agree. I have casually (but never seriously) thought of becoming a priest before, but I want to be married…
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Wesrock
Guest
Celibacy has not always been the rule, true. However, a continent priesthood, even among married priests, has been a very long-standing tradition in the west (and was even a mode in the east, too), predating the rules on celibacy by many centuries. The rules on celibacy were not a medieval invention or a change in doctrine or teachings on priests and sex, it was a step to preserve and protect the ancient tradition of a continent priesthood.
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