Issue of married Catholic priests gains traction under pope

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I have no idea what you’re going on about with “these are not the teachings of the church” and “conflicting with Scripture” and I have no desire to get into some argument over your interpretation of the Scripture and how you think the church is doing it wrong.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
I have no idea what you’re going on about “conflicting with Scripture” and I have no desire to get into some argument over your interpretation of the Scripture and how you think the church us doing it wrong.
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Well, I would start with Genesis 1 and 2 to demonstrate that marriage is instituted by God. I think you would agree with me there. I would refer you to 1 Corinthians 7 to demonstrate that sex is a good thing and is given to help express our God-given sexual urges within the confines of God’s institution. I would look at Ephesians 5 and 1 Peter 2 to demonstrate that Christian marriage is actually a demonstration of Christ’s love for the Church. And I would refer you to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 2 where it speaks of the qualifications of bishops/priests and deacons where it uses a man’s ability to manage his household as one of the primary ways of evaluating people who are fit to serve in those positions. I would also point to early Church history such as Peter being a married apostle and the fact that at Nicea the bishops rejected prohibitions against the clergy marrying.

Anyway, if you think I am telling you that the Catholic Church is “doing it wrong”, I am not. I am saying that the current prohibition against priests marrying isn’t a matter of Church doctrine, but of canon law, and that a change to this would not be some sort of aberration from the apostolic faith. You guys do what you will with it, but I think the Pope is perfectly within the rights of his office to consider whether this should still be accepted as canon law. I personally think it would be of benefit to the Church to reverse this law, but that’s for you guys to decide.

I just found your comment that you find it objectionable for priests to lay aside their desires for family as some sort of character defect as off base. It isn’t objectionable for a person to have more than one calling (Christian, pastor, husband, son, father, citizen, etc.).
 
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Hodos said:
I just found your comment that you find it objectionable for priests to lay aside their desires for family as some sort of character defect as off base.
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I said nothing about “desire for family”. I discussed “desire for sex”. Most priests I know have family members and extended family members with whom they spend time already. The ones who want to be married, in my experience, aren’t looking for “family”, rather they are looking for an intimate, in other words romantic and sexual, relationship with a woman. I’m sure there are exceptions to this, but they are exceptions to the rule.

If you find my comment objectionable, that’s your issue; I don’t find some guy on the Internet quoting the Bible convincing when the Vatican has taken the opposite position for thousands of years.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
I said nothing about “desire for family”.
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Clearly I meant raising a family in the context of Genesis 1 and 2. And again, sex, in the context of marriage, is a God-given blessing. And the Vatican’s decision about the celibacy of the clergy had nothing to do with doctrine or morals, and everything to do with protecting church property. Note that there was no canon law on this matter until 1139, and that this prohibition was rejected in previous councils and by statements by previous popes. I am quite certain our friends in the East would back me on this to demonstrate that this wasn’t the rule, and hence there was no exception necessary.
 
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lilypadrees said:
We have a married priest in our parish and he was born and raised in the Catholic Church.
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We have a married priest in the next Parish, but he was not born and raised Catholic. Is there more to his story that allowed him to become a married priest? This is definitely not the norm.
 
Being celebrate DOES NOT make anyone a sexual deviant or child molester!
The vast majority of people who commit sexual assaults are married men or men who are already in a relationship.
Letting priests get married is not going to stop abuse.
If a person plans to break their celibacy, they’re more likely to do so with another consenting adult, not a child!
A child is just as likely to get assaulted by a leader from almost any other church, school, or anywhere a person has power.
Anyone who assaults a child should be dealt with harshly and immediately, but it is NOT found exclusively in the Catholic Church.
 
Opening up the priesthood to married men in parts of the world where clergy are scarce – is the reason given for married clergy. Those who propose a change, point to married clergy in the Eastern rite. Would they also adopt the requirements for married priests in the Eastern rite?
  • abstain from the conjugal act during the fast days - all Wednesdays and Fridays of year, St. Philip’s fast/Advent, Lenten fast, Sts. Peter and Paul fast for month of June, and Dormition fast August 1-15,
  • abstain on evening prior and day of celebrating Divine Liturgy
  • Bishops and monks remain celibate
To combat vice, it is necessary to practice the opposite virtue. In today’s society, fornication is rampant. Seems prudent that the opposite virtue, chastity for all and celibacy for clergyy, be maintained. And as the Church Fathers taught, unless the appetite (through fasts and abstaining) is mastered, the lower passions will control the man. Also seems wise to reinstate fasting and abstaining. “Some demons can only be cast out with prayer and fasting.” (Matt 17:21)
 
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OneSheep said:
I have no idea why a deacon, or even a religious sister or brother, could not perform the last rites.
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It is actually Anointing of the Sick, and it is a Sacrament of Healing. This Sacrament also provides the sick person with the forgiveness of sins and the completion of Christian penance. Since only those who are ordained to the Priesthood can forgive sins, only a Priest can properly minister Anointing of the Sick.
 
It also assumes God is giving conflicting callings to men. He does not. People want their cake and want to eat it to.
 
Dr_Meinheimer said:
It also assumes God is giving conflicting callings to men. He does not.
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There are married Catholic priests and Orthodox priests. God has given them callings to the married life and to the priesthood. There are married Catholic deacons. Do you claim that their callings to married life and the life of a priest or a deacon is conflicting and not approved by God?
 
I claim that men who currently claim to be called to married life and priestly life are not being when that is impossible are not being called by God, because those two conflict.

Why would it be conflicting for the Easter orthodox men when there is no conflict between the callings in those religions.
 
This is true in a sense. It is the Church who confirms a vocation. Thus, until the Church ordains a married man, said man has no vocation, in the absolute sense of the term, to the priesthood. The Church has the power of binding and loosing…if she looses this requirement, then those married men she ordains will indeed have vocations to both holy orders and marriage.
 
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If I am not mistaken the Holy Father has stated he has no interest in removing the obligation to celibacy.
 
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I’m Eastern Catholic and know a married priest quite well. Celibacy is the norm. If a priest is married, there are requirements to abstain from conjugal acts prior to offering Divine Liturgy - see post 49. If a priest were to offer daily Liturgy, he would be required to live celibately with his wife.
 
I don’t believe it. Perhaps things vary that much from diocese to diocese, but I am very skeptical. I used to do business management for a parish, I have seen our diocese pay scale for priests. Considering they have room and board provided, it’s not horrible pay, but it is not near enough to support a family (average would be less than half of the median family income in this country).
 
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