Marriage & Priest

[mjf150]

Why is it that the Catholic Church/Pope condones the marriage of some priests (i.e. those who have coverted to the Catholic faith), but does not allow a life-long Catholic priest to marry? I don’t understand the reasoning. If the Catholic Church allows priests to marry/remain married, then in essence, they are validating and condoning the marriage of priest. What is the Catholic Church’s justification for not allowing priest to marry? It is these contradictions that test my faith, but it is God’s answers that strengthen it.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

Just to clarify: the Church doesn’t allow any priest to marry. However, in the Eastern Catholic Churches men who are married may be ordained priests. There is also a special provision for Anglicans (and some Lutherans) who are serving their communities as ministers to become Catholic and, on a case by case basis, request ordination. These are exceptions to the rule.

The rule of celibacy is long standing in the Western (Roman Catholic or Latin Rite) Church. There are both theological and historical reasons for it. Today, there’s a practical reason as well. However, the discipline of celibacy is a powerful witness to the response men make to the call to the priesthood.

Deacon Ed

 

[mjf150]

Pardon me, but you make it sound rather trivial. There are more than a few Western priest, who are married, in this area alone. Is there a movement within the Catholic faith to allow priest to marry, or at least to allow married men to become priest? What do you believe would be the benefits, if any, to having married priest? And do you believe that it will eventually happen? Thank you for your time and answers.

 

[alyssa]

but does not allow a life-long Catholic priest to marry?

I may just be mis-understanding this, but you seem to be ignoring the fact that these men agree to remain unmarried if they are to be a Latin rite priest- I have never heard one express a desire to be able to date and marry, or endorse that this dicipline should be changed.

 

[mjf150]

Alyssa,

I have heard a Priest of the Latin Rite (the late, Father Al), indeed express a desire to have been married. I believe that most (not all) priest, in fact, honestly deep down desire to be husbands, fathers, and grandfathers. After all they are human, and that is a human desire. It is natural to want to (as God states in the Bible) “go forth, and multiply”. I don’t think He was talking mathmatics there.

Mike

 

[puzzleannie]

Celibacy is a charism, a gift of the Holy Spirit, granted to men who are called to the sacrificial priesthood in the Latin rite Church, it is also a discipline, freely accepted, for the good of the priesthood, the individual priest, and the service of the Church. It is not suddenly flung upon the young man on the day of his ordination, “Oh, by the way, did we forget to mention you cannot get married, so lose the girlfriend.” Any more than married couples are told as they leave the altar, “You may now kiss the bride, by the way, no ABC allowed.”

 

[mjf150]

Do you believe that in the future the Catholic Church will allow priest to marry or married men to become priest? The Catholic Church is an ever-evolving, living entity and has changed in many, many ways since it’s inception, and still does so to this day.

 

[Detroit_Sue]

mjf150:

Pardon me, but you make it sound rather trivial. There are more than a few Western priest, who are married, in this area alone. Is there a movement within the Catholic faith to allow priest to marry, or at least to allow married men to become priest? What do you believe would be the benefits, if any, to having married priest? And do you believe that it will eventually happen? Thank you for your time and answers.

When these married men are ordained, they also promise to remain celibate if their wive predecese them. Just like permanent deacons.

Married men may become permanent deacons in the Latin Rite.

There are lots of threads about your question. Use the “search” option at the top of the page to find them.

 

[kmktexas]

Deacon Ed:

The rule of celibacy is long standing in the Western (Roman Catholic or Latin Rite) Church. There are both theological and historical reasons for it. Today, there’s a practical reason as well. However, the discipline of celibacy is a powerful witness to the response men make to the call to the priesthood.

Deacon Ed

One of my Eastern Catholic brothers may correct me, but isn’t is a long standing rule in the Eastern Church as well? My understanding is that even in the Eastern Catholic churches, although married men may become priests, no priest already ordained can chose to give up the charism of celebacy and marry nor may any married priest be ordained as a Bishop.

Is there a movement within the Catholic faith to allow priest to marry, or at least to allow married men to become priest?

Yes, to both questions. There are movements within the Church that propose both scenarios. This is a matter of discipline that can in fact be changed at some point in time. Unfortunately, these “movements” in recent years have also embraced female ordination (this is doctrine, not discipline and can’t be changed) as well as other less savory changes to the priesthood. This has weakened their credibility and muted their voices where it counts.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

kmktexas:

One of my Eastern Catholic brothers may correct me, but isn’t is a long standing rule in the Eastern Church as well? My understanding is that even in the Eastern Catholic churches, although married men may become priests, no priest already ordained can chose to give up the charism of celebacy and marry nor may any married priest be ordained as a Bishop.

You are correct. Once ordained to the diaconate a man may not marry. This is true of the Eastern and Western Churches. There are some exceptions made for permanent deacons with young children or elderly parents to care for should his wife die and he desires to remarry – but those are evaluated on as case-by-case basis. Bishops are generally choesen from the monastics who, in general, have never married and are always celibate. One exception is Bishop Nicholas Samra who was not a monasatic (but was celibate) when he was chosen to be a bishop for the Melkites.

Deacon Ed

 

[mgy100]

Celibacy was mandated in the Latin/Western church around 1200 a.d., correct year is probably easily found.
From what I’ve heard it was to reign in priests that had two families, children everywhere, etc… So after the law went into effect priests had to be celibate.

If a scandal could cause the church to impose celibacy… why can’t SCANDAL REVERSE CELIBACY?
MY diocese is predicting we’ll have only 20 priests by 2015 with I think 160 parishes? Something has to be done, everyone argues about whether Father knelt at the right time or the altar boys had sneakers on or what words were mis-said, but these are only tiny compared to what is going to happen. Attendance is down, vocations are down, debts (you know what debts) are pinching our wallets. Anyway, it affects us all and the Holy Spirit will guide us.